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Post by bungo the mungo on Dec 29, 2021 9:33:28 GMT
nice write-up, flange!
it made me want to listen to it.
cheers.
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fange
god
Listening to long jazz tracks
Posts: 4,555
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Post by fange on Dec 29, 2021 10:22:14 GMT
Excellent, i'm glad to hear that, skopey.
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fange
god
Listening to long jazz tracks
Posts: 4,555
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Post by fange on Dec 29, 2021 10:30:29 GMT
I know that you aren't always the biggest fan of more traditional hard bop jazz, skopey, but i played this Shorter track the other day from his 'Schizophrenia' album, and it made me think that fans of more funky jazz like yourself and G would find this right up your alleys.
It's called 'Tom Thumb', a tribute to pianist Bobby Timmons - a fellow bandmate in the Jazz Messengers before Timmons' sadly premature death. It's a gorgeously loping funky jazz number that i think you'd really dig.
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Post by bungo the mungo on Dec 29, 2021 10:48:57 GMT
I know that you aren't always the biggest fan of more traditional hard bop jazz, skopey, but i played this Shorter track the other day from his 'Schizophrenia' album, and it made me think that fans of more funky jazz like yourself and G would find this right up your alleys. It's called 'Tom Thumb', a tribute to pianist Bobby Timmons - a fellow bandmate in the Jazz Messengers before Timmons' sadly premature death. It's a gorgeously loping funky jazz number that i think you'd really dig. good stuff, flange. thanks. please DON'T write me off as a non-hard bop jazz fan. 'slow drag' by byrd is my favourite jazz album of all-time and one that i've championed both here and on bcb over the years.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2022 16:50:05 GMT
IF YOU WANT A PHOTOGRAPHIC REPRODUCTION DONT BUY A PICASSO. IF YOU WANT A POPULAR SONG DONT BUY A COLTRANE RECORD. RALPH J GLEASON.
It is of course very easy to lump Love Supreme in with Kind of Blue or “The Shape of Jazz to Come” however it is a unique work of musical art and cannot be listened to in the same way (perhaps this is true of all great jazz albums). A Love Supreme is the beginning of Coltrane’s “difficult” period and requires a devotion on the part of the listener, the mood of whoever is listening can depend on how well the music is received….There is certainly a peacefulness to some passages but it is also an intense listen at times with Coltrane really pushing the boundaries of his instrument, biting down on the reed, blowing notes that only the most dedicated players could reach and play perfectly. It should also be noted that the chant or riff is played in every single key….. the message being that GOD is everywhere…..this is certainly a far cry from the big band jazz of the Glen Miller orchestra or the slavishly traditional Marsalis brothers.
This is not music one puts on in the car to impress a first date or before a wild night out in Ibiza town centre. This is not even an artistic statement. It is in fact an expression of Coltranes connection with a God of his undertsanding. In fact the music was so sacred to him he only ever played it once Live and even now members of his family debate wether the music from this recording should be reproduced at all.
So how did John Coltrane a former heroin addict Miles Davis kicked out his band for drug addiction get to God? The truth is God and spirituality had always been closely entertwined with Coltranes life from a very young age, the drug period in his life was simply a moment off the path to his true God; musical perfection.
In fact before 1940 ended John Coltrane had experienced the death of his father, grandfather and uncle leaving no male in the family bar himself at the age of 13. At this point Coltrane played the clarinet in the school band and had ony just begun to familirarise himself with the saxophone. Increasingly as he got older it became his form of spritual relief from the horrors of living. It is easier to undertand in this context how he viewed his playing of music as a path to spiritual comfort; sadder still that perhaps his genetics had already cast their curse given his own utimely passing.
Coltrane in his liner notes makes a point of mentioning a recent deviation or what he called a “period of irresolution” (a relapse) from his road to God so it makes sense that while attempting to overcome urges to go back to heroin Coltrane once again found solace in his saxophone just as he had all those year as a yung teenage boy dealing with grief. Even after all the drugs, the great bands of Miles and Monk, the women and the fame- one single outlook remained; music was his path to salvation and a plain higher than the one we find ourselves on.
From the first strike of a Chinese gong by Elvin Jones there is an attempt to connect the human with God via his instrument. It should be noted that Coltrane only uses the tenor saxophone on this album which up until this point was unusual for him and it has been suggested because the tenor is closer to the human voice than the soprano the musical union is easier to produce. At the end of Acknowledgement Coltranes own voice will be heard further adding to the idea that God is everywhere.
Normally for an album of such profound musical importance it seem foolish to try and express what it means however in this such instance Coltrane (normally indifferent or downright baffled by the purpose of liner notes “if the music doesn’t speak for itself then what’s the use?”) in fact wrote a letter to the listener as well as a poem that flows as effortlessly as the music itself.
The album would go onto influence many artists not just from a musical standpoint but a relgious one as well. Guitarists such as Santana and John McLaughlin would follow his relgious approach to music in order to achieve a more pure form of artistry as well as living.
More interestingly is the Led Zeppelin who in fact copied the melody and the shamanic chanting of the first track on the album for one of their most fanous songs “Whole Lotta Love”. If you sing the melody you can in fact hear striking simialrities.
We shall never know if Coltrane approved of such pilfering especially the lyrical content of the song and the screams and sexual innuendo of Plant however it shows how far and wide Coltranes influence was felt and still is today.
Finally it seems unfair to write about the album and not mention the mercurial talents of the rest of the band. Once again McCoy Tyner shines on Piano and Jimmy Garrison is solid on bass, I have mentioned Elvin Jones previously. Perhaps we could focus on the technical leaps Coltrane had made since his stint with Miles expanding the modal theories explored on Kind of Blue even further however for this writer misses the point of this unique landmark album that placed the divine before any chord ever played by anyone even the great man John Coltrane himself.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to be an expert or such so any corrections or criticism or more information is always appreciated. Thanks.
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fange
god
Listening to long jazz tracks
Posts: 4,555
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Post by fange on Mar 16, 2022 10:52:15 GMT
Yep, an amazing set of music. Great write-up, Dante.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2022 13:11:50 GMT
Yep, an amazing set of music. Great write-up, Dante. Indeed. I submit to the board that Blue Train and, especially, Ole are both better THO.
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Post by DarknessFish on Mar 18, 2022 14:57:08 GMT
G's half-right, Ole is better (mainly due to the incredible title track), but I'd also like to suggest to the jury that Giant Steps is superior, and that Ascension is Coltrane's greatest work, m'lud. Such a powerhouse of a record; there's so much going on in Ascension that you can never get bored of listening to it, of trying to follow it. It's a behemoth of texture and interplay.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2022 16:00:27 GMT
I struggled with 'Ascension' when I first bought it (way back in the 80s), as I tended to struggle with free jazz generally, and haven't really returned to it. Should give it another go.
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Post by bungo the mungo on Mar 18, 2022 17:30:59 GMT
please DON'T forget 'africa brass'.
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Post by fonz on Mar 18, 2022 18:58:56 GMT
please DON'T forget 'africa brass'. Did the ‘sausage’ thread tempt you back?
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Post by bungo the mungo on Mar 18, 2022 19:03:27 GMT
please DON'T forget 'africa brass'. Did the ‘sausage’ thread tempt you back? no, it was a sense of duty and a desire to 'call out'.
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