Were he not such a monster as an instrumentalist, John Coltrane could have easily been lauded as a major composer. I can think of no other saxophonist who has composed so many jazz standards—no, not even Wayne Shorter. Without even considering the A Love Supreme suite, which is of course Coltrane’s major work, there are so many other compositions. What jazz player does not know “Giant Steps” (even if they can’t play it very well)? Then there is the beautiful ballad “Naima” or what about “Impressions,” Trane’s variation on “So What,” the Miles Davis composition.
When we consider Coltrane the composer there are three essential periods: 1. Pre-Atlantic, 2. Atlantic, and 3. Impulse. Most of the well-known originals are from the latter two periods mainly because Coltrane wanted to retain his own publishing rights and that was verboten at Prestige, or else Coltrane was working under the leadership of others and was not in a position to control the output of his music. Once Coltrane got to Atlantic a torrent of music issued forth and the meditative “Central Park West” is a prime example.
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Everyone who knew them in the sixties testifies and bears witness, Eric Dolphy and John Coltrane were sensitive souls, humble, quiet, unassuming. For some, this made their music even more difficult to comprehend.
What these literally gentle men did was blow the cobwebs out of every listener’s mind. This awesome music is both refreshing and at the same time frightening. Their sound made you think of things you never thought of before—and that’s the essence of revolution. Not just overturning but entirely replacing the old order.
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We blast off with the duo of Eric Dolphy & John Coltrane. From cross the water English/Bengali pianist Zoe Rahman offers us bracing jazz. And we close out with nine interpretations of Coltrane's "Central Park West" featuring John Coltrane, Tommy Flanagan, Matt Jorgensen, Jack DeJohnette, Reuben Brown, die vier Tenore (the four Tenors), Odean Pope, Woody Herman, and Pharoah Sanders.