Assuming you’ve heard about this never-before-heard recording of John Coltrane’s month-long residency at NYC’s Village Gate in August,1961 but have only heard the single, “Impressions” so far, here are some quick observations:
- Understandably as Eric Dolphy is sitting in, there’s a tentativeness, a bit of uncertainty in sequencing the solos, and just what tempo they want to establish. This “getting it together” is especially apparent in the first two tracks, “My Favorite Things” and “When Lights Are Low” and recedes a bit as the tracks unfold.
- On several tracks, the group consistently builds momentum to explosive heights. “Greensleeves,” for example, is the most aggressive version heard on any of Coltrane’s albums.
- The unit as a whole has not yet reached the power of the Classic Quartet. This may trace partly to McCoy Tyner’s piano positioned lower in the mix than the two front liners and Elvin Jones, who, by the way, is his typical force of nature here.
- Relative to other live Coltrane recordings his solos are a bit shorter, realizing that he has to share, but more importantly, exhibiting more patience than is customary.
- The contrast between the two horns is often revelatory. Dolphy is usually bright and precise although on “Africa” he reminds of the kid in the backseat of the car, waiting to interrupt the conversation with short bursts. Coltrane, on the other hand, is constantly reaching, and consistently fierce.
Although Dolphy is present on later recordings {Live at the Village Vanguard (Impulse!), Ole (Atlantic), Live in Europe (Pablo), and Africa Brass (Impulse!)}; this is his first performance with his practicing partner, Coltrane, and the only recordings at The Village Gate, recently unearthed at the New York Library for the Performing Arts. The five tracks run for eighty minutes, mostly familiar fare – “My Favorite Things,” “Impressions,” Greensleeves” and two rare ones – “When Lights Are Low” and the only non-studio version of “Africa” which laid the groundwork for Trane’s first album on Impulse! It features a breathtaking bass clarinet solo from Dolphy. Dolphy plays flute, alto saxophone, and bass clarinet in support of Trane’s soprano and tenor saxophones, the latter only played on “Africa.” At this point in his career, Trane had been listening to folk music, Indian music, and African music at the time, and you can clearly hear those motifs here. To achieve such, he used two bassists, Reggie Workman and Art Davis on these dates to create the sound of a “drum choir.” As Workman explains, “…Art would be at the top of the bass, playing in the thumb position, while I was keeping the groove, the foundation.” Only “Africa” features extended bass and drum solos but the drone quality of the two bassists underpins all the tracks.
Another attractive feature of this offering is the copious liner notes. Here are just a few excerpts:
- Rich Alderson, original sound engineer – “On this recording, even without any mixing, you can hear Coltrane and the drums very well, and also piano, bass, and Dolphy…I can see that basement room in this recording, and the power of that group, especially Elvin Jones…”
- Reggie Workman on memorable quotes from Coltrane – “By the time people get hip to what I’m about today, my mind’s going to be somewhere else.” and Trane’s advice to him “Listen, don’t ever stop growing, Don’t ever stop moving. Don’t ever stop creating.”
- Lakecia Benjamin in putting this in context to the various periods of Coltrane, “But…I’ll say this: if the other Tranes didn’t exist in the years before or after, and this music was all that we knew, it would still be life-changing.”
- Branford Marsalis – “He had just come out of the success of Giant Steps…Most musicians would have rested right there, for the rest of their careers. But Coltrane walked away from it after about a year and a half -“Well, that’s enough of that”- and went right back into the crucible.”
Though controversial at the time, this music, experimental in nature, still resonates with intensity, spirituality, and unbridled power, a clear steppingstone to Trane’s Classic Quartet, and a ‘must have’ for Trane collectors.
