If you've read my Coltrane reviews, you know that overall I've enjoyed the more traditional works of my favorite saxophone player. I readily admitted to hating Ascension one of Coltrane's most avante garde pieces. However, this posthumously released album, now re issued on CD and re mastered in 20 bit, is one avante garde album that I love. It is to me half way between Coltrane's masterwork A Love Supreme and the too far out there Ascension
The compositions
The compositions herein are Mars (10:41), Venus (8:28), Jupiter (5:22), Saturn (11:33), and two bonus tracks Leo (10:53) and a Jupiter variation (6:44). Despite the track titles, Holst: The Planets this is not.
The Musicians
Not present are the usual musicians on the Impulse Jazz recordings. The familiar drums of Elvin Jones, bass of Art Davis and piano of McCoy Tyner aren't here. In fact, the only accompaniment that John Coltrane has on this CD is Rashied Ali on drums. Coltrane himself plays the tenor saxophone and bells. This is NOT your traditional jazz album. It is the last session music that Coltrane recorded before his untimely death of liver cancer on July 17th, 1967. I was not yet 3.
But, I loved it!
Its hard to describe this selection of compositions, but I will try. Coltrane takes his tenor sax to new levels here just blowing into it so hard that he seems to exceed the limitations of it. He gets crazy sounds from it, backed by the manic drumming of Rashied Ali. I can describe one record where I have heard drumming like this before, and it is not from the world of jazz at all. On some very early Pink Floyd, stuff like Saucerful of Secrets and Umma Gumma, (also late 60s recordings) they do some really experimental wild stuff, and Nick Mason just goes off with his drumming, providing a frantic back beat to the bands forays into songs like Interstellar Overdrive. In fact, I wonder if Roger Waters or Syd Barrett ever listened to Interstellar Space and were inspired.
Coltrane sounds like he is trying to escape the limitations of music itself as he pushes his sax to insane notes pushed so that they are one on top of the other, as if he didn't have enough time to get all the notes out, so they are pushed out quicker than should be possible. I didn't get Ascension, but I "get" this. It isn't traditional, it breaks all the rules, yet it just sounds so intense that it transcends.
Let me try to describe a bit in detail.
On "Mars" bells sound and those crazy drums come in, then Coltrane plays on his sax, almost traditional note scales eminate from therein. Soon the scales are pushed into registers not possible from a tenor sax, but they come out anyway. Faster, more frenetic, the sax plays. Then just riff after riff of notes delivered rapid pace up and down, sometimes softer sometimes louder. The drums are going crazy.
"Venus" starts again with the bells, but the drums are more relaxed, and so is the saxophone. Coltrane just sort of meanders on it unconstrained, but in no particular hurry. Every once in a while I almost thought he would break into a traditional melody, but he does not. This song is the opposite of Mars. There is no aggression, no intensity, just a relaxed and free sound.
This CD is nothing like Coltrane's early work, but it is a masterpiece, and merits listening to. One can only wonder what he would have recorded had he not died so young.
Sound Quality / Test Equipment
This album was remastered in 20 bit by Impulse Records and the original analog masters must have been impeccable because the album sounds fantastic, no discernible hiss, just sax and drums. I listened to this disc on a Meridian 506 24 bit player, a Yamaha 5280 receiver as a preamp, a Rotel 991 RB for amplification (200 watts/ch), and a pair of Polk Audio Monitor 70 towers.
Summary
This was Coltranes last studio experiment. I am sorry that he passed away so young, I would have loved to have heard more, but Interstellar Space is the last project we can hear from Coltrane's beautiful talent.
Recommend this product?
