Customer Reviews

Expression

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OK, the music may be wonderful, a spiritual experience and all that, but what my fellow rewiers have forgotten to warn potential buyers about is the fact that this album needs to be remastered as soon as possible - one need only listen to the version of 'offering' released on 'stellar regions' to understand what i'm talking about. In other words: if you are into Rashid Ali's drumming, definetely do not buy this one, for he's the one to suffer most with the poor quality of the sound - his cymbals are hardly audible and, in a general sense, it's as if he were doing some 'percussion' sounds, instead of really thrashing his kit off.

End result: COLTRANE AND BAND 5 STARS - IMPULSE 2 STARS = 3 STARS

This recording, like all others from Coltrane in his last years ('65-'67) is an example of an artist breaking free of vanity and ego, allowing him to go beyond art into a truly sacred realm, no longer concerned with the trivialities and vain illusions that keep others from really creating something tanscendent. I believe that towrads the end of his life he saw through the concept of time and this philosophy translated into his "spontaneous composition" aproach which is beautifuly clear in this recording. He was no longer playing music, he was molding space-time. He and his band take you to the very core of existence through their improvisations found on this and many other recordings.

Well, no one can accuse Coltrane of not having an imagination. Improvised music is a tricky art. Lack of an immediately identifiable melody can sometimes make improvisation a daunting and annoying venture. Coltrane was a master of this art however and even though his solos were sometimes long winded, each one of them had at least a few areas of pure, unadultered brilliance. "Expression" is not an easy Coltrane album. There is no such thing as an easy Coltrane album but this one poses a real challenge. This album, for being his last is not as atonal as one might think, but if you haven't heard any Coltrane beyond "A Love Supreme", this album is going to blow you away. He is pretty much playing in a quartet setting here, with Pharaoh Sanders only playing on one track. Most reviews of "Expression" say that it gives no clue to where Coltrane was headed, I think it is a fine last album. It doesn't really show where he was headed because if you listen very carefully, this album has a sense of finality to it. Each track seems laden with wispy overtones of desperation, hopeless and acceptance of fate. Coltrane must have known the end was near when he recorded this. The quartet on this album is not the classic quartet. McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones are gone, Jimmy Garrison is the only existing member from the classic quartet. Rashied Ali is on drums and Alice Coltrane on Piano. It is a very different sound from the sound of the Classic Quartet. More spacious. As far as rhythms go, gone is the polyrhythmic thunder of Elvin Jones, Ali plays in more of a panrhythmic fashion, almost making his drumset sound melodic, as opposed to a timekeeper. He is adding to the sound. Alice Coltrane's piano is lush, rolling and spacious. Gone are the wonderful chords of McCoy Tyner, Alice's style is very different, but very effective for what Coltrane wanted to play at that point (listen to the beginning of "Expression" for a good hint of what I mean.) The same goes for Ali. This is truly a wonderful final statement from Coltrane. He even plays flute on a song. All in all a very magnificent 51 minutes, and a little sad too, not only because it was his last album, but because the music is somewhat sad.

I'll just chime in the chorus, beautiful spiritual music, "To Be" is one of the most gentle and soothing Coltrane pieces (All you Coltrane Quartet elitists don't know what you're missing, it wasn't all atonal you know!) of all time, as good as the immortal "Naima". Pretty much flawless music as one would expect from the master, I only wish my hero Pharoah Sanders played on more of these. Camilo from D.F. described it best in their review, this is pure, egoless spiritual music, utterly transcendental. I become self conscious now, I fear I repeat myself in my Coltrane reviews here, what can you say about this music that defys all language, all description? Coltrane himself disliked liner notes, preferring for the music to speak for itself (a love supreme being the exception). Great music, not as essential as some other work of this time but still the most incredible music of it's time (or anything since), get Meditations, Sun Ship, Interstellar Space, the live shows, and "The major works of" first, then check this out and you will be so delighted that you did.

John Coltrane was never one to waste a single note especially with that avalanche of sound he produced. There were many times when an artist creates just to create...freedom from the constraints of record company exectives, producers, and the jazz buying public. I suspect he used the studio in his later years as a sanctuary for pure expression and nothing else and within that solitude of shadows he made his finest work. I think he gave up the commercial side of himself and retreated into the genius that he is. "Expression" was a record company playing on his name and in doing this unwittingly released two or three ("Interstellar Space" being one of them) of the greatest Jazz recordings ever.

This music pulls at my heart like nothing else I've ever heard. Thank you, John.

I have to confess that I didn't fully understand what Coltrane was trying to convey here, nor did I have to agree with either of the reviewers above. Yes, Coltrane did have a clear sense of direction to wherever his muse would led him, but not after 1966 till the day he died where he seems to be alittle confused and distressed (by critics and the "loyal" coltrane fans who were alienated by his later free formed music with no steady beat). To my view, this record seems to tell the premonition of his death; he was desperately forcing out every single note to create the sound of an orchestra, which he was trying to achieve before his untimely death. Coltrane's legacy is to make people happy through his music but why do I hear so much turmoil and turbulence in such a gentle guy? The linear notes in this record are very uncertain, It stated that Coltrane wants his music to speak for itself and the humanity that would reflect the spiritual awareness of anybody who is open and willing enough to explore and experiment. Neither did the great Book by Lewis Porter discuss anything about this issue. I have still a long way to go with this record, even after a thousand times of listening and experimenting. This is beyond technical description, just listen to the vast emotion and power that were being expressed. It is really hard to categorize this piece, whether from Jazz, World to Spiritual. Because what I hear in this album is a pure abstract image of humanity, a sound of conviction and the truth is always out there. Although I didn't really understand what Coltrane was trying to convey here, to me it's a sound of inspiration by a guy who had scarified and devoted all his life into music..

Like Miles Davis, Joe Zawinul and Sun Ra, John Coltrane continued to pursue music as severe health problems began to mount; seemingly finding a special solace in the studio and on stage that continued the creative flames until the body finally succumbed to the illness.

This is the final Coltrane-approved release - he also gave the album its title - with the tracks recorded in 1967 at Van Gelder Studio on February 15 (To Be, Offering) and March 7 (Ogunde, the bonus track Number One), with Expression from an undated session. The music features Coltrane (tenor sax, flute), Pharoah Sanders (flute, piccolo, tambourine), Alice Coltrane (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and Rashied Ali (drums).

Alice Coltrane is majestically impressive on each track, with the highlight being her work on Offering. The subtle beginning on To Be builds to an incredible intensity between Coltrane and Sanders. Ogunde is a beckoning to open the heart and the spiritual awareness within the title track made for a fitting end to the original album. The joy heard between husband and wife on the bonus number is timeless.

It is the final cut, but don't get lost looking for sadness. The artist only asks for a celebration of his life...which will live forever.

I'm not a jazz expert, but I would say, purely as music, that I was struck from my very first impressions by the power and emotional honesty displayed . The moments of intense lyrical beauty (such as the first track, Ogunde, and the opening and closing of Expression) I found incredible, and, now, after several more listens, even more so, are juxtaposed with long sections of pyrotechnics, which, at first, I found excessively frenetic. They are beginning to make more sense now, except the final piece, Number 1, which was not included on the original issue. It is a display of seemingly empty pyrotechnics, without the saving grace of a truly wonderful melody, as all the other tracks have.
The first work on the disc is called Ogunde- when I first switched the album on, I was taken aback (in a good way, though) by the direct emotion and lyricism. It is one of my favourite moments from this CD. After that, Coltrane picks up a flute and plays for 16 minutes on To Be. There are quite a few interesting passages, such as a mysterious, Oriental-sounding opening, and, even if I can see the point of one reviewer who called it `over-long', I think that it does definetly work. Track 3 is Offering, which opens, like all of the tracks but Number One, lyricaly. The title seems appropriate, with the majestic opening, and impassioned soloing of Coltrane throughout. Now for the fourth piece, and my favourite, the sublime Expression. The opening is absolutely glorious, with a timeless feel about it that pervades all 10 minutes and 50 seconds of the piece. The music then slides seamlessly into a faster, passionate, restlesss, section, with some good soloing from Alice Coltrane, whose piano-playing, especially in her solo moments, really impressed me. Coltrane re-enters, with a honking, crying, swaying, almost shrieking display of (by no means empty) pyrotechnics, before, magically, the original melody seeps back in, until the pyrotechnics fade away and we are left with the calm, moving beauty of the opening. I have already expressed my feeling about Track 5, and, in my opinion, the less said about it the better.
To sum up, I would recommend this album to anyone who is a bit adventurous-don't come expecting anything traditional by any means: prepare to be surprised, maybe even shocked, but, if you can stomach it, you will find immense rewards in store. Maybe I should leave the last word to the liner notes: `The music lives so completely, so strongly, so organically on its own terms that it speaks directly to anyone open enough to hear.'

Well I bought the LP in 1970 whilst still at college. Have loved it ever since. I do wish Impulse would remaster the CD to give a greater recording balance. It deserves better so that all can appreciate its grandeur. Also "To Be" has grown on me over the years.

I post this review to offer a different slant - one I believe either John or Alice or both were proclaiming in the album titles of 1965 to 1967 and I offer to you readers of this review.

I recently read a book by MSI (Maharishi Sadashivi Isham) called Ascension. It's an analysis of the art of Ascension as taught by the Ishayas. What struck me reading the book was the number of times famous Coltrane compositions were included in this book as guides to Ascension, it is as though Coltrane were using a subtext to a spiritual path he was striving for us to consider.

Song titles such as "Ascension", "Eternity", "Bliss", "Peace on earth", "Praise", "Infinity", "Expression", "Love", "Attaining", "Offering",
"Serenity" amongst others come screaming at me from the page when reading this book.

Maybe John was spreading this message for all as his legacy through his music. Remember his chant on Cosmic Music "May there be peace and love and perfection throughout all creation, oh God." It makes sense now in the realm of Quantum Physics and Matrix Energetics. Worth investigating the book "Ascension" and really getting your mind around what JC (deliberate ambiguity and pun) was trying to expound.

By the way Expression deserves better recognition as a truely fine album.