John Coltrane - The Very Best of John Coltrane [Impulse] (2001)
MP3 | 320Kbps | RS.com | 177mb
Genre: Jazz / modal, avant-garde
Time: 74:47 | Tracks: 10 | Label: Impulse!
AMG:This isn't the first CD that has had the title The Very Best of John Coltrane, and one can safely assume that it won't be the last. The focus of this 74-minute collection is Coltrane's Impulse output -- specifically, modal post-bop that he recorded from 1961-1964. The disc doesn't get into the blistering atonal free jazz he embraced from 1965-1967, which is just as well because even though much of that material is brilliant, it isn't for everyone -- at least not novices and casual listeners who are exploring the saxophonist's work for the first time. And for those who need a dose of introductory Coltrane, this release generally favors the more essential recordings that he provided for Impulse. That includes "Acknowledgement," "Bessie's Blues," and "Crescent," as well as legendary encounters with Duke Ellington ("In a Sentimental Mood") and singer Johnny Hartman ("Lush Life"). Because Impulse didn't have access to Coltrane's famous Atlantic recordings of "My Favorite Things" and "Naima," they chose live versions from various Impulse releases -- both of which are excellent, but not essential. This CD would have been better off with "After the Rain," "Miles' Mode," or "India," none of which are included. Also questionable is Impulse's decision to include a previously unreleased 1962 studio performance of "Impressions," which should have been saved for a collection of rarities -- this is supposed to be a best-of, after all. But all things considered, The Very Best of John Coltrane can serve as a rewarding introduction to the saxman's Impulse period. While this 2001 release is hardly the last word on Coltrane's legacy, it is one of the CDs to start out with for novices.
Amazon.com:John Coltrane is a much-anthologized artist. He recorded primarily for three labels in his decade-long stay at the forefront of jazz, whose vaults have yielded numerous best-of recordings in recent years and now two very-bests to commemorate the 75th year of his birth. This collection is drawn from Coltrane's Impulse years, the early '60s when he was the most powerful and influential voice in jazz. The material dates from 1961 to 1964, omitting the more challenging later recordings and emphasizing the classic quartet formation with pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and bassist Jimmy Garrison. It's a generous collection, with a running time of nearly 75 minutes, and every track is a gem. The highlights of his collaborations with Duke Ellington and singer Johnny Hartman, "In a Sentimental Mood" and "Lush Life," respectively, are here, as is a marvelous rendering of his own beautiful "Naima," recorded at the Village Vanguard in 1961 with Eric Dolphy on bass clarinet. While the famous studio version of "My Favorite Things" belongs to Atlantic, the live version here from the 1963 Newport Festival may well be the greatest of his numerous recordings of the tune. There's an ineffable quality in Coltrane's greatest work that's never been matched, a combination of magisterial creative authority combined with extraordinary tension and expressive depth. It's apparent everywhere here, but perhaps most intensely felt in pieces like "Alabama" and "Crescent," performances that reinvented lyricism in jazz.
For newcomers to Coltrane's music, this is an excellent introduction, comparable, and in some ways superior, to Ken Burns Jazz Collection: John Coltrane or the complementary The Very Best of John Coltrane on Rhino/Atlantic, covering the years 1959-61. While Coltrane aficionados are likely to have most of the material here--some of it multiple times--there's also something for them: a 4 minute 33 second version of "Impressions" that was inadvertently omitted from the eight-CD set of The Classic Quartet: The Complete Impulse Studio Recordings. The only known studio version of a tune that Coltrane reworked repeatedly and at length in live performance, here it's a taut vignette.
Tracks:1 A Love Supreme, Pt. 1: Acknowledgement 7:47
2 In a Sentimental Mood 4:16
3 Bessie's Blues 3:34
4 Naima 7:07
5 Afro Blue 10:48
6 Lush Life 5:28
7 Crescent 8:44
8 Impressions 4:35
9 Alabama 5:09
10 My Favorite Things 17:19
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