Customer Reviews

Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: John Coltrane

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a long-time devotee of Coltrane, I'm often asked which recordings serve best to introduce newcomers to this great musician. Unfortunately, despite the best intentions and general good taste of the folks doing the Burns compilations, I would have to say there is still no single disc that adequately represents Trane. That's because his music went through a series of stylistic periods, and when you try to throw them together on a single disc, it's more frustrating than enlightening. I would suggest, if you're new to jazz and considering buying some Coltrane, you might want to start with the "Blue Train" CD--it's a classic hard bop session, features some of Coltrane's best compositions, and is just a very enjoyable record that's well within the mainstream jazz tradition. Next up might be "Giant Steps," which features what is arguably Trane at his virtuouso best. His playing on that CD is often unbelievably fast and clean, and very harmonically sophisticated yet not "out" at all. From there, you might take the plunge and explore the more hard core stuff: either the "Live at the Village Vanguard" material or "A Love Supreme." Both feature Coltrane playing much more wildly, and while the music may seem a little abrasive and over-the-top to new fans, you may ultimately enjoy it best of all. From there, you may decide whether you want to hear more of the early, hard bop period, the "sheets of sound" period of the later '50s, or the modal and free playing of the '60s. They're all very interesting and ultimately rewarding, but I suspect most newcomers will want to get used to the '50s stuff before they're going to like the freer period. If you buy the Burns CD, you'll probably feel less than satisfied, since it offers only a small glimpse at each period. Better, I think, to explore them chronologically via the above listed CDs and take it from there.

Oh, one more thing: Some of Coltrane's best playing was done on Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" and Thelonious Monk's "Thelonius Monk and John Coltrane." If you don't already own any Monk, Davis or Coltrane, you might want to start there, and check out Miles and Monk while you're getting into Trane.

Hope this helps. Man, I almost envy those of you who will be hearing this stuff for the first time. It sure knocked me out!

I recall that I took a jazz appreciation course a number of years ago in which the instructor used John Coltrane's music as an example of how modern jazz artists had hatred in their heart and contempt for their listeners. That shallow assessment was completely at odds with everything I had heard--and read--about Trane, whose music seemed to come from a deeply spiritual place, albeit one capable of being both serene and turbulent (sometimes in the same performance).

A single-disc collection such as this can only hope to give the novice listener a peak at Coltrane's brief but prolific career, but it does so probably as well as possible. There is the fluid complexity of GIANT STEPS, the melodically-rich soul of NAIMA (I sure don't hear any hatred here!), the modal serenity of MY FAVORITE THINGS, the non-verbal political protest of ALABAMA, and a heart-felt ability to revive such classic ballads as IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD. Perhaps some listeners will be floored by JUPITER, a free-form sax-drums duet recorded shortly before Trane's untimely death in 1967. Yet even here what is in evidence is a musician relentlessly pushing his own boundaries for aesthetic purposes, rather than a bitter attempt to alienate anybody within earshot.

I bought this for the introduction to Coltrane. That is why, unlike other reviewers, I like the wide range of Coltrane's style on this disc. Some reviewers knock this album for not having this song, or that song. Well, if you had them all already, why did you need to buy this album, too?

If you're looking for an introduction to John Coltrane, this album is a great bet. I wasn't sure which to try in the whole gammut of albums, and chose this for the number of tracks, and the fact that they were dispersed on the numerous other albums. The 'wisdom' of my choice led me to buy Ken Burns' Thelonious Monk album, and add others to my Amazon wish list.

I think the Coltrane collection is really, hmmn, not very good. Each of the discs in the Jazz collection comes with an essay. The writer about Coltrane, Carl Woideck, seems to be pretty ambivalent about Coltrane all together. You get the impression that he doesn't think all that highly of Coltrane and that he has very little to say. On top of that, the collection is sparse. "Giant Steps" is not included (the booklet explains that they wanted to include it, but could not due to "licensing restrictions"), nothing is included from "Blue Train" and very little is included from his later period. Only "Acknowledgment" is included from "A Love Supreme". All told, there are only 10 songs on the CD. Compare that to 16 songs on the Dizzy Gillespie disc, or 14 song on the Thelonious Monk disc. And it's not just song length that is dictaing how many tracks are included. The length of the Coltrane songs doesn't vary that much from the Gillespie tracks. I find it odd that they would put out this CD since I got the impression that they put very little effort into it.

There are better collections or you could start with Coltrane albums like "Blue Train" or "Giant Steps"

The four previous reviewers have summed up this CD from every angle and I concur with their opinions. Basically this is a career time capsule of what Ken Burns feels is exemplary of the different stages the late, great, Trane went through. Beginning with his early years as a sideman with Miles Davis and concluding with his example, of the spacey, exploratory, period piece, "Jupiter." It would be nearly impossible to get a retrospective reflective of his work based on the sheer volume of this genius, prolific, saxman. However Burns has attempted to do just that and for the most part succeeds. These are only glimpses into Trane, further exploration is needed for those interested in jazz. This is just perfect though, when you have to have that Trane fix. Several things are missing from this retrospective worth mentioning. The absence of his work with Eric Dolphy and his further exploration of multiple saxes with Pharoah Sanders should have been included as representing a stage in his development. The influence he had on Pharoah Sanders is documented on his own recordings and his renditions of "Naima" are almost identical, the difference in phrasing is practically undectable. The fact that this has all of my most favorites makes up for any shortcomings, especially since "My Favorite Things" is here. I've listened to Tranes version since it came out originally and never get tired of it. Great music to listen to for those moments alone, knowing you're still here appreciating some good jazz, a part of the soundtrack of urban life, in the now past, 20th century.

The music of John Coltrane is about as difficult to represent on one CD as any musician I can think of. As other reviewers have said, this CD is about as good an introductory collection as one could hope for. Listeners who find specific songs particularly compelling should go back to the original albums to appreciate more of that phase of Coltrane's work. But, ultimately, the quality and vast scope of Coltrane's career cannot be appreciated without more extensive exposure to all representative periods.

OK, people, why not get off Ken Burns' back? His PBS series on jazz and the subsequent CD's to come from it are certainly imperfect and limited, but who else has tried to bring the music to the masses in the past 30 years? I'm glad he did what he could, and I think he's done far more good than harm to the cause of keeping classic jazz alive. Now to this sampler: Coltrane was too varied in his styles and interests to be pinned down to one disc, or even two. But if you never heard him before, and want an inexpensive way to hear what he was about, this release will accomplish the task. I own 14 Coltrane albums now, all bought in the past two years. I like his early stuff, and his initial releases as a leader, much better than his latest period in which he indulged in avant-garde, free jazz, dissonance, squeaks, and shrill trills, etc. Basically anything before 1960 is "accessible" and wonderful, and much that comes between that year and his death in 1967 is difficult, with a few superb exceptions. The CD under discussion is pretty much chronological, so that the first half is fairly traditional, the second half fairly "out there." This was an intense guy, and a restless one. For my own tastes, a compilation called "Trane's Blues" in which he was mostly a featured player and not a leader, is more enjoyable, although limited to the first ten years of his recording career. Coltrane, in 20 years as a saxophone pro, preserved tons of his work on vinyl, so starting a collection can be intimidating. There is so much, yet the player of 1957 and the one of 1961 and the one of 1965 are so different! Look up his catalogue, read 10 reviews of each disc, listen to the samples, find something that sounds good that fits your budget and taste, and plunge in. This one can get you started, but his "Giant Steps" and "My Favorite Things" CD's are adventurous enough for me, while his "Blue Train" is perfect and his work with Kenny Burrell, Thelonious Monk and Johnny Hartman show him as totally understandable and accessible and skilled.

Okay, who's crazy enough to say anything negative about John Coltrane? In recent times, his legacy has grown into something like a mild-mannered Malcoolm X. The man's personality was thoroughly unprovocative, gentle even, but his musical ideas challenged even the most liberal of jazz lovers. Coltrane marched to his own drummer (usually Elvin Jones) and he wasn't so concerned about whether or not his audience was hip enough to follow him. This, combined with his early death, has combined to make the man a modern-day legend, and the CD does a credible job of presenting the constantly expanding pace of Coltrane's expressive musical imagination. Starting conservatively with "'Round Midnight," his first major burst onto the jazz scene as Miles' right-hand man in the first classic quintet, and ending with the so-called "anti-jazz" of "Jupiter," Ken Burns' Jazz has only touched on the various facets of a fascinating man. After this, you'll be hungry to hear more. (A) - Tom Ryan

I think this is a good CD for those whom want to hear Coltrane. This shows all his styles, and from there, you can judge what you think of his later works, such as Jupiter. Should there be a track takin off, I would say Chasin the Trane and replace it with Blue Trane

I personally really like Coltrane's burning intensity, its what Charlie parker lacked, and the speed is what Sonny Rollins needed. For me, Coltrane IS the ultimate saxophone, and the saxophone master. I'm not saying Rollins or Parker are bad, because they are good too, but Coltrane is my by far, favorite. Coltrane puts so much heart and emotion into what he plays. Unlike many, he plays in tons of styles, Free Jaz, Hard bop (Giant Steps), and ballads. This is a good complation of his work, in my opinion

I don't know why it is, but the album I have has slightly different track listings. My copy does not include "Giant Steps" .. it says in the booklet that it couldn't be included because of licensing restrictions, although it is on "The Best of Ken Burn's Jazz" as well as in the box set, so I am not all that bothered that it is not on here. Also "Bessie's Blues" is not on my album, but "Mr P.C" is. But apart from those discrepancies, whether there's 2 versions of the same album, I don't know .. but I do know that it is a great introduction to Coltrane. Of course, no one disc can do real justice to such a jazz giant, but I was kind of suprised that nothing from "Blue Train" was included here. That happens to be my favourite Coltrane album, and I think they could have substituted "Mr P.C" or "Naima" for one from "Blue Train", seeing as they are both from the same album. The booklet includes an essay on Coltrane as well as some photos.