Customer Reviews

Very Best of John Coltrane

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Eleven tracks from the Atlantic recording era. There are five recording sessions represented here from May 1959 through October 1960. The packaging is very nicely done and the music is, really, heavenly. Favorite tracks include Central Park West, Body and Soul, Mr. Syms and Giant Steps. One note of interest is that the song Giant Steps was not "released" by Atlantic/Rhino to Ken Burns' Coltrane collection which was released on Columbia. For this reason alone, this is probably a better choice, although the Ken Burns' collection covers virtually Coltrane's entire recording career. I like this collection more. You cannot go wrong with this selection.

A comprehensive sampling of the style of John Coltrane and his supporting band mates. The man good really genenerate some creative tones out of his saxophone. I tend to prefer his slower more tuneful pieces like Central Park West, Mr. Syms, and Equinox. That last track really creates a mood.

However, the show stopper on this puppy is My Favorite Things. Not a wasted moment as Coltrane really makes this song his own. The piano accompanyment McCoy Tyner is stunning. But the varying interpretations on the theme are performed with perfecion.

Give this one a spin as it won't dissappoint you.

As far as I'm concerned, almost any collection of Coltrane tunes could hold up as a "Best Of" or "Greatest Hits" compilation. I have not heard this album in this form, but I have heard all of these tunes. And all of them are great. This album, more accurately described, should be titled "The Columbia Years," since these takes are from Trane's stint with this company. "Naima" and "Equinox" are two of my personal favs from this period. "My Favorite Things" is Coltrane's most commercially successful tune, but that does not detract from this classic in any way. Julie Andrews aint got nothin' on the Trane. THis may just be one of the best places to initiate your appreciation of Coltrane, since this disk contains music from one of his more accessible periods. No balls out Avante Guard mayhem here, as in later periods, just nice refined smooth jazz from the very best. A great place to start appreciating THE MAN.

It's tempting to laugh at a John Coltrane compilation, simply because so many of the man's albums are essential. However, even though this neglects Trane's awesome Impulse! albums, focusing instead on his Atlantic years, it's a great introduction to Trane before he revolutionized free jazz and turned himself into one of the jazz world's most controversial musicians as a result. Material from five albums is featured here: Giant Steps (a must-have album), My Favorite Things (ditto), Coltrane Plays the Blues (very solid album), Coltrane Jazz (right in the middle) and Coltrane's Sound (his weakest studio album, though it has its moments - all of them are found here). And the only questionable song on the album is Summertime, a standard I'm pretty well tired of: the Coltrane version is okay, but by far the weakest song on My Favorite Things (I'd rather either Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye or If Not For Me). Other than that one dud, my only complaint about this album is its rather limited scope: The Ole Coltrane album is entirely ignored, which is a shame because its title track (Well, semi-title track) would definitely qualify as "very best", and the fact is you can't get an idea of what Coltrane's like just by listening to his Atlantic recordings: you need the Impulse! ones too if you want the full picture. Still, as a summary of the Atlantic recordings, it's hard to go wrong with this one: you get a few of his most widely known originals (Equinox; Giant Steps; Naima; Cousin Mary; Like Sonny; Central Park West), and a couple superb covers (My Favorite Things; My Shining Hour; Body and Soul - hard to ruin a song with such a beautiful melody!!), as well as a dark horse that's got my blessing, Mr. Syms. And this does for the most part offer the peak of the man's Atlantic recordings.

This album is excellent as it contains some of his most "popular" songs. I say this tongue in cheek because his style does not lend itself to popularity in a pop tune type of way. I go back with Coltrane to the days when he went through his various stages,his death and his posthumous gazillion recordings. Without a doubt, if you are a straight ahead jazz fan this a great album. I recently puchased it to add to my extensive Trane collection and was very pleased with the selection of works. My Favorite Things is a unique rendition of the classic Rogers and Hammerstein number, the full range of Trane comes out. On this tune you will experience the melodic, the driving rhythms, the far out embellishing of a soft tune, always puntuated by the classic Trane wall of sound. Summertime is another accesible tune penned by Heyward and Gershwin that is recognizable but improvised upon by Trane like no other, his sax soars to heights that bring you gently back down like only he can. I mention these two songs because they are familiar to many people. The difference is in Tranes style, like no other before him or since he transends the parameters usually afforded such standard songs to create a true "new" masterpiece. Coltrane has many different recordings of these songs but these hold up as well as any. One of my favorite recordings of My Favorite Things by Coltrane is from Japan with Eric Dolphy contributing on flute. For those unfamiliar with Trane this is a great place to start, for those who long for more this is a good addition. Naima, named after his first wife, was Coltranes personal favorite and mine as well. The song is in a word, beautiful. I have heard many different versions of this song by Trane and they are all fantastic. Once you here this song it will stick in your brain and you will be playing it in your head from time to time. This cd reflects what Trane has done in one period of his tremendous career that was brought to an end much to quickly in 1967 by liver cancer. His music has withstood the test of time, it is as fresh as ever.

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As far as I'm concerned, almost any collection of Coltrane tunes could hold up as a "Best Of" or "Greatest Hits" compilation. I have not heard this album in this form, but I have heard all of these tunes. And all of them are great. This album, more accurately described, should be titled "The Atlantic Years," since these takes are from Trane's stint with this company. "Naima" and "Equinox" are two of my personal favs from this period. "My Favorite Things" is Coltrane's most commercially successful tune, but that does not detract from this classic in any way. Julie Andrews aint got nothin' on the Trane. THis may just be one of the best places to initiate your appreciation of Coltrane, since this disk contains music from one of his more accessible periods. No balls out Avante Guard mayhem here, as in later periods, just nice refined smooth jazz from the very best. A great place to start appreciating THE MAN.

This greatest hits collection is really outstanding. Coltrane is sheerly brilliant with the Sax. He can literally do things nobody else can with that thing. This proves that with every track. But before purchasing this, decide whether you just want the basics, or if you really want to delve into his musical deepness. If you don't have the time and money, just pick up this album and you're pretty much set. But an ever expanding collection is a good collection.

My favorite track: "Cousin Mary"

I have this CD in a Rhino release: same music, same cover photo, same "very best of" tagline, just not the "Greatest Hits" design. I think of John's time on Atlantic Records as his most interesting, and all the performances here are from 1959 and 1960. In the '50's, Coltrane was a more traditional sax improviser, mainly on the Prestige label, and he produced some lovely things. After 1960, he moved more and more into "avant-garde" or "free-form" jazz and lost me as a fan. On Atlantic, you get the best...he is harmonic and inventive, melodic and yet stretching a few solos into unexpected territory. For those not familiar with Coltrane, but not all that adventurous in their jazz tastes, this is a superb introduction, better than the Ken Burns compliation which was issued back during the "Jazz" miniseries on PBS. Although I own at least a dozen Coltrane CD's, this one will get repeat play. The mix of ballads and uptempo tracks is excellent here.

This is a good intro to Coltrane, he has too much amazing stuff to put into a single CD but this is a great place to start off. You'll get a little sample of all his sounds from this CD. And for those of us who own more than 10 Coltrane Albums, it's still nice to have all these excellent songs on one high quality CD.

In this recording of John Coltrane, there are several songs that stand out in my mind as I write this: The incredibly complex "Giant Steps", the child-like version of "My Favorite Things", the on-again/off-again sad to happy blues song "Equinox", and the business day blues of "Mr. Syms".

Each of these standout songs is different and unique among the other songs on the recording, but it is to these I want to draw your attention as those that captured mine when I listened to the CD.

I am a guitarist who wants to learn Coltrane's interval and melodic technique, but I am always perplexed by his ever changing exploration of the note, in and around the note, wrenching it of its juice like a squeezed lemon, until there is no more; and then Coltrane changes his melodic structure and has another entire lemon to work with.

Please don't misunderstand this illustration as to make it sound like his music is sour like the lemon, although that's what you may be thinking!

Coltrane's unique use of intervals has always what has been his hallmark, some slow and bluesy, others as in the changes of "Giant Steps" blindingly fast and complex.

There are other songs I would have liked to have seen appear on this recording, but as advertised as "The Very Best of John Coltrane", this CD doesn't fall that short.

If you are new to Coltrane's work, this is an excellent place to start. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars because of the fact there should be other more recognizable songs of his on this recording, and I would have gladly paid for a 2-CD set if "The Very Best of John Coltrane" delved more into his vast repertiore of work.

All that being said, the songs on "The Very Best of John Coltrane" will not disappoint or denegrate the recording in its entirety. Again, the CD should be taken for its whole, not just the standout songs I mentioned above.

Classic Jazz enthusiasts already know Coltrane, and this is a welcome addition to my collection, almost always in rotation on my CD carousel if not uploaded to my iTunes.