Live At The Village Vanguard: The Master Takes [Live]

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John Coltrane's legendary 1961 stint at the Village Vanguard marked one of many watersheds in his career. For the first time on record, Coltrane was delving into extended solos, featuring another saxophonist in his front line and extending the rhythmic palette of his group to include East Indian tinges. Eric Dolphy stands out in the Village Vanguard sessions, both for his poingnant bass clarinet work on "India" and for his dragon-like alto sax elsewhere. As usual with the "classic" Coltrane Quartet, pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones create a storm of crisp chords and torrential rhythms. This creates an ideal foil for Coltrane's irrepressible saxophone creativity. Andrew Bartlett

Tracks:

Spiritual
Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
Chasin' The Trane
India
Impressions

Amazon.com

John Coltrane's legendary 1961 stint at the Village Vanguard marked one of many watersheds in his career. For the first time on record, Coltrane was delving into extended solos, featuring another saxophonist in his front line and extending the rhythmic palette of his group to include East Indian tinges. Eric Dolphy stands out in the Village Vanguard sessions, both for his poingnant bass clarinet work on "India" and for his dragon-like alto sax elsewhere. As usual with the "classic" Coltrane Quartet, pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones create a storm of crisp chords and torrential rhythms. This creates an ideal foil for Coltrane's irrepressible saxophone creativity. Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

The master at work.......2007-07-17

One of the few (I can name about fifteen) essential live albums out there, and the live Trane album to get first. Village Vanguard is simply a key part in tracing Coltrane's entry into free jazz, and not just because it features Trane's protégé Eric Dolphy (an accomplished artist in his own right - Out to Lunch rules!) adding a ghostly bass clarinet to "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise" - John's own soprano sax playing on that same song gets almost as intense as it later was on "Ascension", though only for a brief moment for two. And don't tell me the classic "Chasin' the Trane" isn't free jazz, because it is. Even without the historical significance, Village Vanguard would be a must-have for "Spiritual" alone - that song conveys a huge range of emotions without actually speaking a word. A spiritual indeed, and a deeply moving one at that. As it has often been pointed out, the entire set conveys plenty of emotions: devotion, happiness, fury, the state of being content, etc. I don't think this should be bought before A Love Supreme or Giant Steps - you need an idea of the man's capabilities before you pick this up, otherwise "Chasin' the Trane" would probably seem like pure noise to you (though it is, in fact, one of Coltrane's stronger achievements), and "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" is merely good, rather than breathtaking like "Spiritual" and "Chasin' the Trane". Regardless, this is an essential document of John Coltrane's work.

Got Soul?.......2007-04-14

You want to hear the human soul at its best? Here you go.

great live coltrane musical magic act........2007-03-24

"chasin' the trane," "india," and "impression" are highwire acts of fierce musicianship. there is a nervous tension contained within the rapid fire notes (notes that rub off against each other with a speed producing audio sparks), which moves each of these tunes along towards a breathless climax. heady stuff. "spiritual," is simply one of the most gorgeous coltrane tracks out there. if you don't have this album, get it soon.

Excellent introduction to the Quartet.......2006-03-09

For those not familiar with Coltrane's Classic Quartet (Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones), this is a great springboard for diving into his plethora of works with the ensemble. Though there are only a few cuts on this album, it's about quality, not quantity. Besides, Coltrane blows for 15 minutes on "Chasin' the Train" and about as long on the modal jazz standard, "Impressions". Backed by one of the greatest rhythm sections of all time!

And even within those two cuts, it's not about quantity, but quality. He doesn't exactly play a flurry of notes, but keeps his ideas relatively simple, and just builds and builds for all those choruses (I recall reading somewhere that he blew 96 choruses on "Chasin' the Train").

If you're into Coltrane's playing with Miles, then this shouldn't be that far of a stretch for the ears. This also seems to be one of the very few albums he recorded live with the quartet that didn't feature "My Favorite Things", which seemed to be his Quartet's staple later on.

One of the greatest of live music albums.......2005-10-16

If you are already a Coltrane fan, which you must be if you are considering purchasing a 4 cd set, then I would simply say to you why are you hesitating? This collection is quite simply one of the greatest collection of live music I had the privilge of listening to. It is Coltrane (and his band) at the peak of their powers.If you are a casual jazz or music fan with money considerations, then I would suggest you buy the one cd version that was released while he was alive and use the savings to explore more of his albums. However, once you start listening to Coltrane you will come back to considering this collection because there is simply no comparative recordings that capture his brilliance.

Live at the Village Vanguard: The Master Takes

Average customer rating:

Live at the Village Vanguard: The Master Takes
John Coltrane
Manufacturer: Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000008AM4
Release Date: 1990-02-28

Tracks:

Spiritual
Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
Chasin' the Trane
India
Impressions

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