Customer Reviews

Sun Ship (Reis)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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Sun Ship is one of my favorite "late" Coltrane albums; this was among the last recordings made by the Classic Quartet, and strikes just the perfect balance between the burning intensity and expressionism of Ascension and the modality of earlier recordings. Coltrane's mastery over the tenor saxophone is complete here, screaming and honking with ferocity as the thundering rhythm section of Tyner and Jones pushes him forward and upward on "Sun Ship" (the agitated, tense theme of this tune is awesome) and "Amen". The prayer-like ballads, "Attaining" and "Dearly Beloved", are just as volcanic. And the closer, "Ascent", features a lengthy (but not over-long) bass solo which sets up Coltrane's entrance perfectly as he proceeds to launch into the stratosphere. This is heady music, and not for the faint at heart; but those who like A Love Supreme will find a lot of touchstones here, and some of the other factors that turn people off from late Coltrane (Pharaoh Sanders, the horn dialogues) are absent. There's just the classic four here, taking the Quartet format as far as it will go. This and the John Coltrane Quartet Plays are perfect intros to this period in Trane's music. Absolutely essential to any Coltrane collection!

This album is often described as transitional, as Coltrane moved from the classic quartet to the undiluted energy music of his final phase. But it's title gives away another important aspect of these sessions. John Coltrane's was hugely influenced by John Gilmore, and even took lessons from the less celebrated virtuoso just as he was setting up the quartet. Gilmore spent his career with Sun Ra, and '65-'66 was the height of the Arkestra's awesome power. It was the time of Gilmore's most adventurous solos, making sounds that only the brilliant Coltrane could hope to emulate. It would not be the first time that Coltrane managed to harness his influences into a uniquely successful vehicle.

Although "A Love Supreme" is generally regarded as Coltrane's most emotional album, "Sun Ship" tops it in intensity and passion. The music is volatile, from lush McCoy Tyner passages and Coltrane themes, to Elvin Jones's furious percussion and Coltrane's atonal improvisation. Coltrane's solos on the title track and "Amen" are guaranteed to give you goosebumps, if you "get" his later stuff.

There are very few recordings in jazz which have the power and the swing of the first cut: Sun Ship. What is being demonstrated here is the supreme mastery of the rhythm section of the Quartet. At this point it is difficult to comprehend how advanced harmonically was the Quartet; they had redefined the concept of swing but never lost its soul. There are of course other rhythm sections as great but none who took it this far without going over the edge. I have to believe that Hendrix must have heard some of these recordings before he recorded Are You Experienced and Electric Ladyland. Sun Ship is the last great recording of this group and it has not received its due because of the greatness of A Love Supreme, Transition and others. But I think this is a mistake; in some ways their grasp of modality and atonality is more mature, a little tighter than it is on Transition and some of it is more adventurous than A Love Supreme. It was 1965 and American Society was in an uproar. It is a testament to the greatness of these musicians that they not only heard so much of what was going on inside of them but also so much of what was going on outside of them at the same time.

The classic quartet made the most epic artistic voyage of any jazz group in the history of the music. This is where that voyage ended, at the extreme limit of non-free jazz. As you might imagine - especially if you've experienced the dimensional transport of "A Love Supreme" - it's harrowingly emotional music, the sound of four artists stripping their souls raw. As much as I respect the products of Coltrane's free period, one has to wonder if perhaps McCoy Tyner was right in his apparent conviction that anything beyond the eruptive catharsis represented by the likes of "Sun Ship" would be something no longer quite in the realm of music.

His chord-pounding through the tumult here is some of his most astonishing work. And Coltrane couldn't have blown any more intensely if he were literally on fire - he often sounds like he's trying to explode his saxophone from the inside by sheer musical force. But Elvin Jones manifests himself on this recording like a god with drumsticks - his playing is so rhythmically and sonically volatile that it's a little frightening. To use the parlance of 1965, when this apocalypse was recorded, it's one heavy trip.

So if you're the kind of Coltrane listener who could only handle the occasional squeals on "A Love Supreme" because of the larger atmosphere of spiritual communion was reassuring, be on notice - that despite the song titles - this record won't be a warm bath for your soul. Because the ship Coltrane is commanding here isn't powered by the sun, it's *heading towards* it.

This is the Coltrane classic quartet at it's absolute best. The music just soars and if you love Coltrane's more experimental sound you cannot afford to miss this. I bought this and had it playing on my car cd and had to pull over and listen. The interplay of the 4 musicians who were at this time so incredibly in synch is astounding. Elvin Jones never sounded better than he does here and McCoy Tyner's piano is beginning to hint at what he would accomplish on his own post=Trane. I cannot recommend this enough. This is one of the high moments in jazz history..an absolute masterpiece.

I've finally gotten around to starting my reviews for all of Coltrane's albums. Summer of 1965 may seem like an odd place for me to start, but this cd deserves it.

Of this general era, only A LOVE SUPREME and ASCENSION seem to attract widespread attention, and to ignore this cd is to overlook one of Coltrane's best recordings. More compact and focused than ASCENSION, this cd delivers all the visceral, emotional, cathartic release of ASCENSION, but in smaller pieces. Honestly, I listen to this more often than ASCENSION, mainly because it has no trumpeters to drag it down, and is, for my ears and soul, a collection of better improvisations on great themes.

Coltrane is at his spiritual best here. If you aren't already a fan of Coltrane, this may or may not be a good place to start. This cd could very well end up being too heavy for people who aren't already into "out jazz" in general, or later period Coltrane in particular. If you are already a jazz fan, I'll say that this is the cd that I think the David S. Ware Quartet has patterned itself after the most. Yes, they are very different bands, but the general approach on this cd seems to me to have been what inspired the Ware Quartet's general approach.

I am a big fan of listening to music in headphones, and unlike most all other Coltrane recordings on the Impulse label, this was not recorded by Rudy Van Gelder. In headphones, the "mix" of this album isn't quite as good as are the Van Gelder recordings but it does sound fine on an open-air stereo system. In headphones for some reason Garrison and Tyner seem a little buried to me, while Jones and Coltrane dominate the mix, but these problems don't exist outside of headphones, where Tyner shines.

This cd is often overlooked in favor of the "big name" Coltrane releases of the same era, but make no mistake, this is essential Coltrane. One of his all-time best recordings.

1. Sun Ship 6:12
2. Dearly Beloved 6:27
3. Amen 8:16
4. Attaining 11:26
5. Ascent 10:10

John Coltrane, tenor sax
McCoy Tyner, piano
Jimmy Garrison, bass
Elvin Jones, drums

This was my fifth Coltrane album. My first four were (in order) A Love Supreme, Giant Steps, My Favorite Things, and Coltrane's Sound. Of course, Sun Ship was not the place to go after only hearing these other far more straight-ahead albums (with the exception of A Love Supreme), but I saw the album and thought it looked good, with A Love Supreme-like song titles and the classic personnel. To be honest, I didn't like Sun Ship that much when I first listened to it. I had been made aware that anything by Trane was bound to be enjoyable in some way, but at this point I hadn't grasped the idea of free jazz and its usual elements: free time, atonality, etc. But the more I listened to Sun Ship, the more enlightened I became. The album went from "insane" to "beautiful" in the course of a couple of weeks, and it is now one of my favorite Coltrane albums.

All of the music here is amazing. Anyone who has previous listening experience with the Classic Quartet knows that this is great stuff. I don't feel that it is necessary to comment on the music itself. It is so strong and intense that it stands by itself, and anything that I say will just be extra baggage. I will, however, comment on the musicians. McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones once again prove that there is no better rhythm section than the one that Coltrane was fortunate enough to have from '61 to '65. And as for Trane himself, I cannot express how grateful and in-debt I feel towards him for creating this beautiful music and reflecting the Sound.

I picked this up because I had heard Attaining on an old "Best of John Coltrane Vol 2" Lp I had many years ago. I had no idea what to expect apart from Attaining.

First of all Attaining is a wonderful piece of music, Coltrane's tone almost has a "wooden" quality like a clarinet. It's very beautiful, restfull playing while Elvin's drumming is wild, almost chaotic. Wonderful contrast that somehow works. Kind of reminds me of the Psalm from A Love Supreme though the playing far more intense.

The rest of the CD is amazing, the standout track is "Amen" Coltrane plays very intensely. This piece is frantic, barbaric, and beautiful all at the same time.

There are no bad tracks on this CD, it's intense though. Not as wild as Meditations, not as tame as A Love Supreme.

Buy at once!

SUN SHIP is one of umpteen albums that John Coltrane recorded in 1965, and one of the last with the pure quartet format of McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums). It's also one of the weaker recordings from that year. What makes SUN SHIP lesser than the albums around it is that Coltrane seems to my ears rather adrift. On the title track his tone is angry, while on "Attaining" he plays the bare minimum he can, directing his fellow musicians but unable to really take flight.

That said, on "Dearly Beloved" Coltrane is at his usual level, and the band is always in fine form. Elvin Jones stretches himself further than usual, McCoy Tyner dominates half of the tracks, and Jimmy Garrison getting an unusually long solo in "Ascent". It's not at all a bad album, but I find the explosive free jazz Meditations and the transitional Kulu Se Mama to be the high points of 1965.