by admin | Oct 18, 2019 | blog
More than 50 years ago, John Coltrane, Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones, and McCoy Tyner packed up their instruments after a long day in the Van Gelder Studio and headed for home. They were tired, having recorded for hours in the studio space. They probably were a little light-headed, a little sick of each other, and maybe a little discouraged, since the session tapes from that day ultimately were shelved and eventually destroyed in the 1970s as part of a cost-saving measure at Impulse! Records. Clearly, Coltrane, who must have received a copy of that session since it turned up in his wife’s estate half a century later, wasn’t too impressed with the content since it never hit the airwaves and, as far as anyone knows, the recording was never played again.
Fortunately, Juanita Naima Coltrane, who was Coltrane’s wife from 1955 to 1966, shelved the tape herself. Although Juanita Coltrane died in 1996, 22 years later her family members found it while cleaning out part of her old estate. The family released the session tape and allowed the world to enjoy not one but two entirely unknown compositions as well as another five unheard renditions of other tracks. The album was released under the title Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album and consists entirely of takes from that day in 1963.
The owner of Van Gelder Studio, Rudy Van Gelder, was known for his fastidiousness when it came to recordings and production. It is no surprise to jazz historians that Van Gelder played a key role in the creation of the copies of the performances that day and the duplicate recording that ultimately preserved those performances. Van Gelder was known for his secrecy, including hiding multiple microphones throughout the studio to capture as much of the “warmth and intimacy of live jazz performances” as possible in his recordings. One historian, David Simons, writes, “If someone took a photograph in [Van Gelder’s] studio, he would move the microphones around first so no one could steal his secrets.”
The studio was home to many Coltrane recordings, as the musician was very fond of Van Gelder’s physical layout and recording process. Coltrane recorded the released Both Directions at Once there, as well as John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman and A Love Supreme. The newly released Both Directions album has been widely hailed as a showcase of “an epochal band in its prime” (as music critic Giovanni Russonello wrote) and a production that captures “the breadth and energy of [the group’s] live performances.” Thank goodness we only had to wait 50-plus years to hear it.
by admin | Oct 10, 2019 | blog
When you hear the name John Coltrane, you probably know you are hearing about a “jazz great,” but do you really know what made him stand out from the crowd? If you love jazz but have not been listening very long, then you might not be able to follow the conversation when the genre’s true aficionados really starting jamming. Check out our easy list to get a basic overview of what makes these five jazz greats just so special in the jazz books.
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Mary Lou Williams
For starters, Mary Lou Williams was alive for nearly the entire initial lifespan of jazz, since she was born in 1910 and died in 1981. Of course, she did not start performing at birth. She entered the jazz arena playing in a swing band but continued throughout the evolutions of the music to stay at the forefront. She also is unique because she was one of the few musicians fully accepted by the classical world at that time.
Skill Set: composer, pianist
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Miles Davis
Miles Davis may be best known for his 1960s recording Bitches Brew. He is also known for the strangely exotic impact a rampant heroin addiction had on his music, his life as a hustler, and his raspy voice, which he acquired in 1955 after an operation to remove polyps from his larynx. Davis was instructed by his doctors to remain silent until he healed but could not avoid an argument and permanently damaged his voice. He was also called “The Prince of Darkness” after this time.
Skill Set: prolific composer, extremely flexible musician, bandleader, trumpet, flugelhorn, electric organ
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Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk’s music has been called “Picasso’s work set to music.” Although his work sometimes is misconstrued as overly simplistic and minimalist, it has many layers and often includes dissonance. His piano playing changed the way musicians in multiple genres approach the instrument, thanks to a percussive style that includes lots of silent gaps and hesitations in the music. One famed critic once called him “the elephant on the keyboard.” Monk would also occasionally stand up while his fellow musicians were playing and dance for a few minutes before returning to the piano. He also had a distinct look, including suits, hats, and sunglasses.
Skill Set: piano, composer
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Ella Fitzgerald
No list like this could be complete without Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Song. Not only did Fitzgerald collaborate with other greats like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, but she also performed with the Chick Webb Orchestra, often in Harlem. She was an incredible improviser and scat singer. She is known for “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” and “Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall”. Fitzgerald’s performance career lasted nearly six decades, during which she won 14 Grammy Awards, the National Medal of the Arts, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Skill Set: impeccable diction, vocal talent, swing, bebop, traditional pop, vocal jazz, blues, scat singing
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John Coltrane
After all that, we couldn’t leave John Coltrane off the list! Coltrane played truly spiritual jazz, and is known for his album, A Love Supreme. He was also at the forefront of the free jazz movement and collaborated with many other musicians throughout his career, including Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk. He is considered one of the greatest and most influential saxophonists in music history and was even canonized by the African Orthodox Church. He played the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, and flute, and would sometimes keep an extra set of drums on stage so he could play those as well.
Skill Set: musician, bandleader, composer, clarinet, tenor sax, soprano sax, alto sax, flute
