Customer Reviews

Discovery - At the Five Spot

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Dogging this incredible CD because of its lo-fi sound is like dogging the Declaration of Independance because it's on old paper and is hard to read. I mean come on-it is clearly brilliant, joyful music. Get over the poor sound and be Thankful you are lucky enough to hear this great stuff.

...many would say, but I believe Coltrane should have stayed a Monk sideman, judging by the evidence of this recording. No other Monk hornman shared Thelonious's lust for harmonic deconstruction. Usually players like Charlie Rouse, Johnny Griffin, or Sonny Rollins imposed structure on Monk's pixilated harmonic eccentricities, then the leader comes in with a piano solo that blows that order away. Only Trane, entering his furious sheets of sound period (he's like an erutping volcano), evinces a Monkian desire to shred order, structure, common sense. The two men were a match made in heaven, and they left only a tiny handful of recordings together. This is hands down the most anarchic (the whole band sounds weirdly restrained on the recently discovered Voice of America Recording). Coltrane sounds off-mike much of the time; his sound is so damn HUGE that you can still hear him loud and clear. The audio is poor, but who the hell cares when the music is of world historical importance. When you see a shooting star it's rarely under optimal conditions either, but would you pass up the experience?

I see that a lot of folks have been criticizing the sound quality here. When I found this at my public library I hesitated. We've all heard BAD recordings that were put out only to line someone's pockets. In this case, even if the sound quality were terrible, I would still argue for its release. For Coltrane fans especially, this is a rare chance to hear him in one of his least recorded periods. The music is fun and the sound quality is much BETTER than I was expecting. For me, it falls somewhere in between the static of very early 1920's recordings (Louis Armstrong comes to mind) and the house chatter of the classic Bill Evans disc "Sunday at the Village Vanguard." There is crowd noise, but not TOO much, the music is fairly well balanced as far as one microphone recordings go. Monk's piano occasionally comes close to drowning out Coltrane. Considering the circumstances under which it was recorded, I was pleasantly surprised by how listenable this disc is. Keep in mind, if you have not had a lot of experience listening to low-quality recordings or bootlegs, then you may wish to hear this before purchasing it.

Forget the poor quality recording, just listen to the music. This live concert shows Monk and Coltrane totall uninhibited, free to impose their visions onto the canvas of the music. Coltrane's solos are amazing, especially on 'I mean you'. There's also, among other things, a short and snappy version of 'Epistrophy.'

The music is so astonishing you hardly notice the low-fi noise. Both musicians are at their best: Trane is furious and ecstatic, Monk is spacey and crystalline, playing lovely counter-melodies under Trane rather than straight ahead comping. (if only Wilbur Ware were on the bass rather than whoever is playing, though he's competent.) This is a truly unique experience, must have been like hearing Bird and Diz together live.

Enough talk about how poor the recording quality of this disc is. Instead, let's be thankful that a recording was made in the first place, for it unearthes a crucial moment in jazz. The stories of Monk and Coltrane on the same stage was resigned to legend since no tape existed of their meeting--one simply had to be there to experience it. Fortunately, this album helps bridge the time gap for music lovers everywhere who may have wondered what these two sounded like live. Coltrane sounds very self-assured as he attacks these Monk originals with ferocious solos. Inspired by his band mate, Monk sounds invigorated. Only one of the tracks breaks down due to the recording (when the tape machine was accidentally turned off), so the music, though poorly recorded I admit, still shines forth and will reward the patient listener.

Get this disc for only one thing - Coltrane's insane, hyper-extended solo on "I Mean You!!" And that version of "In Walked Bud" is pretty damn good too!

This is a sound album, quality quartet arrangements.

Excellent small band versions of "Epistrophy," "Trinkle, Tinkle," and "In Walked Bud." "Epistrophy" is radically different from other versions I have heard.

So what if the sound quality is that of a dirty bar room hurrah. That's what this is!! Not all great jazz can be Columbia quality reissues. I think the mumblings and minor defects in the master tape add to the ambience of the scene. Sort of time and spacey. Wine glasses, clanging...

Fine jazz from two of the greatest.

I gotta say that while the music is outstanding, the recording quality is very distracting. It wouldn't keep me from buying it though. It's worth every penny, just a little disappointing like just wishing sooo much for sound quality.

OK, not a casual listening album, sound-quality wise, but a rare and fantastic recording of two unique musicians, two of the greatest improvisers ever.