Customer Reviews

Plays It Cool

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Yes sir, it is true - the "Plays it Cool" compilation is one of those Coltrane compilations that is actually worth getting - it is made up of some quite rare material.

First, yes, there is an unusual version of "My Favorite Things" here. It is 20 minutes and 26 seconds long, and can also be found on the Live Trane collection. This version is from the Stockholm performance of 1961. This is the earliest version of MFT that I have heard apart from the studio version. This time MFT is mellower and more intimate than in the later screeching versions. This version also features Eric Dolphy in a very beautiful flute solo.
Alas, I wish I could love this version of MFT as much as the 1963 versions from Newport 63 and Afro-Blue Impressions. But it is really not that inspired compared to these later blistering performances, still being closer to the 1960 version, with its almost whispering sound. It also lacks the 1960 version's inspired solos - somehow Coltrane seems relatively staid here. Nevertheless, this is still very much worth listening to.
Another problem with this track is that the sound seems to waver at times, with the tape apparantly being damaged so it goes out of tune every now and again. This is certainly apparant at the end, with Coltrane's soprano making some odd sounds.

The version of Blue Train here is NOT the original bebop version. It too is a rare live performance from Stockholm in 1961. I really, really love this version of Blue Train, it seems to have all the inspiration that this MFT lacks. Eric Dolphy plays alto, Coltrane a tenor.

The version of Naima here is also from the same performance, as is Traneing In. Both seem very solid.

THe versions of Spiritual and I Want to Talk About You are the same versions heard on "Afro-Blue Impressions". THe former, especially, is incredibly inspired and heartfelt, and may actually be my favourite Coltrane performance ever. But note that they appear on the Afro-Blue Impressions disc.

I'm not very knowledgable on jazz, and have only recently latched onto it, but I have developed a taste for Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane among others. This is a very good CD to introduce you to Trane's music-though not including his later experiments, such as 'Expression', it is an interesting survey. First up is the classic 'Blue Train'-absolutely marvelous, then a beautiful little number called 'Naima' (after Trane's first wife). A piano solo introduces 'Traening in', and then, the centrepiece of the collection, a 20 minute version of 'My Favourite Things'. There's a great intro from Coltrane, then some FAB soloing from piano and flute, before we go back to Trane. This is an UNMISSABLE experience! We wind back down with 'Spiritual', and finish with the romantic 'I want to talk to you'. So you can see there's quite a wide range of styles, though, not as I said earlier, from later periods.

Not JC's very best, but definitely awesome jazz. I wouldn't recommend it to those without Lush Life or Blue Trane, thoug.