10.28.2005
Some favorite things
It's a great season for jazz fans as three new releases capture a handful of giants at the peak of their powers in previously unissued live recordings. The two getting the most ink are Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall and One Up, One Down, from John Coltrane. A third, not quite on the mainstream radar but no less vital, is Town Hall New York City, June 22, 1945 from Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
Each has much to recommend it. The Monk release features a group previously thought unrecorded save for the interesting but sonically inferior Discovery! Live at the Five Spot disc that came out in 1997. Here, Coltrane is four months into his work with Monk's group. Jazz lore reports that Trane was tentative at first in playing Monk's odd compositions, but that is clearly not the case here as he blows with authority. This show, Nov. 29, 1957 at Carnegie Hall, is fantastic. This was the point at which Coltrane was starting to lead his own groups -- his wonderful Blue Train was released earlier that year -- and it is clear from this performance that he was more than ready.
The new disc under Coltrane's name finds this saxophone colossus seven years and a lifetime later, performing with his classic quartet at a New York club. The group is near its end -- A Love Supreme was already in stores and Coltrane was heading into uncharted territory that would find him leaving McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones behind. But for these two sets, these four men are playing as one, proving that on any given night, you just might wander into a place and see the best show of your life.
Less has been written about the Gillespie/Parker set, though there are a few reviews out there if you hunt around. You may have to hunt to find the disc itself, but it's worth the trouble. Hearing it is like popping open a time capsule, releasing into the air the sound of one of the best jazz pairings in history. The sound isn't as crisp as on the other two discs here, but that is a minor quibble. When the reliably late Parker strides onto the stage midway through the opening tune, "Bebop," to take over for Don Byas, the electricity in the room is transferred through the speakers and doesn't let up until the final note is blown.
Each has much to recommend it. The Monk release features a group previously thought unrecorded save for the interesting but sonically inferior Discovery! Live at the Five Spot disc that came out in 1997. Here, Coltrane is four months into his work with Monk's group. Jazz lore reports that Trane was tentative at first in playing Monk's odd compositions, but that is clearly not the case here as he blows with authority. This show, Nov. 29, 1957 at Carnegie Hall, is fantastic. This was the point at which Coltrane was starting to lead his own groups -- his wonderful Blue Train was released earlier that year -- and it is clear from this performance that he was more than ready.
The new disc under Coltrane's name finds this saxophone colossus seven years and a lifetime later, performing with his classic quartet at a New York club. The group is near its end -- A Love Supreme was already in stores and Coltrane was heading into uncharted territory that would find him leaving McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones behind. But for these two sets, these four men are playing as one, proving that on any given night, you just might wander into a place and see the best show of your life.
Less has been written about the Gillespie/Parker set, though there are a few reviews out there if you hunt around. You may have to hunt to find the disc itself, but it's worth the trouble. Hearing it is like popping open a time capsule, releasing into the air the sound of one of the best jazz pairings in history. The sound isn't as crisp as on the other two discs here, but that is a minor quibble. When the reliably late Parker strides onto the stage midway through the opening tune, "Bebop," to take over for Don Byas, the electricity in the room is transferred through the speakers and doesn't let up until the final note is blown.
