Saxguy's Full Review: Impressions (Charly) by John Coltrane
I was looking for some odd musical items earlier today in the basement. While I was unable to locate a music theory book I sought, I did find The Flight of the Bumblebee alto sax solo for a wonderfully talented yet cocky middle school student and this CD, Impressions by John Coltrane. It had a 1992 copyright on the Classic Jazz (Charly) label, a cut list, and no other information whatsoever. Better yet, it was in the Epinions database.
Fine. I needed a Trane fix. Hopefully, this would be something more than the typical bootleg import. Of course, there is great music to be had. However, very often these imports have poor sound quality or use cuts that are a mish-mash of albums already issued. I put it into my computer, cued up Blue Train , the second cut, and was blown away. There were two saxes playing the lead, with the other one being alto. That meant it had to be Eric Dolphy, an extraordinarily talented jazzman who played exploratory jazz on the alto sax, flute and bass clarinet, all of which he was using on this date. Eric died of a diabetic coma in 1964 depriving humanity of what clearly would have been an outstanding, incredibly creative career.
This was obviously a live date, because there was applause after every solo and at the ends of the cuts. While I was listening to the extraordinary music, I did some internet research to see if I could learn more about the recording. The All Music Guide didn’t have a lot of dates for Eric Dolphy with John Coltrane, although I did find out through his bio that he was an additional member of the John Coltrane Quartet in 1961. That narrowed things down a little. First, I thought this would have been part of a memorable set at the Village Vanguard, but two of the cuts (Blue Train and My Favorite Things) weren’t listed. I then did a google search for Coltrane discographies, and there it was. It was recorded in Copenhagen at the end of November, 1961. Having matched up the cuts, I found this was a reissue of a Live in Stockholm album recorded in 1961. The band was Coltrane on tenor and soprano sax, Dolphy, McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass and Elvin Jones on drums.
This was recorded using fairly good sound equipment, although clearly this was not a planned recording by the group because it would have been issued at the time. As bootlegs go, this is quite good. Compared to a professional live recording from the period, it’s not bad – some of the material I’ve reviewed from the Live at the Left bank series is not as good. While this is not studio quality, the recording does not detract from the quality of the solos.
The cd opens with an extended version (20:26) of My Favorite Things The melody line is played by Coltrane on soprano and he improvises around the melody for a couple of minutes. Tyner has a long, satisfying solo, followed by Dolphy with a warm, yet adventurous flute. He opens his solo with a lovely statement of the melody and then has a solo, first moving inside the vamp, then exploring outside the changes. Trane is in next on soprano and his solo, oddly enough is mostly inside the changes. His tone on soprano includes a little more warmth than usual. He goes a little outside, then plays the melody into the finish.
Next up is a nine minute, VERY edgy Blue Trane. The tempo is a little faster than the famous studio version and Trane and Dolphy have worked out a minor modification to the head. Trane has the opening solo on tenor and is busier and more outside on the tenor than in the studio version. The solo shows his incredible technique. Dolphy is in next on alto sax and continues the speed and stream of consciousness approach that Trane had. Dolphy is more outside and uses more space and articulation in his solo. Tyner solos, mostly inside the changes, then the saxes take the song out.
A short version of Naima (4 minutes) follows, notable because of Dolphy’s bass clarinet solo. Once the head is finished, Dolphy takes over with a great bass clarinet solo, that explores the full range of the instrument, inside and outside the changes. Then Trane and Dolphy play the out chorus together, as they did the head.Naima
Impressions opens with Trane stating the melody on tenor, with Dolphy providing counterpoint on alto. The tempo is not quite as furious as the studio version. Trane has the first solo, opens inside the changes, then becomes busier and more exploratory. Dolphy is more outside, using more of an intervallic than scalar approach, and articulating more heavily, then adding speed and fury until Trane jumps in for a a couple of choruses and leads the band out.
Throught the CD Jones on drums is very busy, continuously providing impetus to the solos. Garrison provides his superbly competent bass throughout. Tyner, when not soloing lends his talents to the other rhythm players so that the soloists can do their thing. In my mind, these three, Coltrane’s regular rhythm section for much of the early to mid 60s, didn’t get enough credit for what they accomplished with Trane.
This is an outstanding CD. I highly recommend it for fans of Trane’s 60’s work and for fans of Dolphy. There aren’t a lot of sax players who could hang in with Trane. Not only could Dolphy do it, but he could do it on flute and bass clarinet as well. Hearing these two air it out in a live performance is a treat.
This is in print and can be found at Tower records online, among other places
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