![[Sharps and Flats]](sharps.gif)
RECENT REVIEWS:
4/16/97:
4/15/97:
4/14/97:
4/11/97:
4/10/97:
SEARCH MUSIC ARCHIVES BY:
|
| john coltrane |
"blue train" | blue note recorded on Sept. 15, 1957, "Blue Train" has been called by critics a perfect recording. Coltrane himself called it his favorite recording in a radio interview that is included in this enhanced compact disc version, which comes with two alternate takes, numerous interviews and photographs and a video clip of Coltrane playing "So What" at a different session. The most germane new information comes from the only surviving member, Curtis Fuller, who, after describing himself as cheery to the point of boisterousness, tells us of his efforts to make the "very serious" Coltrane laugh. Otherwise, this session was hard work. Following a tradition he had learned from Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, Coltrane presented the band for the first time with the newly written music. Fuller complained that this was too difficult to learn "in a moment's notice." When the record came out, Coltrane had named one of the tunes, now a jazz classic, "Moment's Notice." The band may not have seen the music before, but they weren't, Fuller reveals, a pickup group. Coltrane, Fuller and trumpeter Lee Morgan, then barely 19, had played together on Monday nights in New York and elsewhere. They knew and admired each other. Coltrane was fascinated by the trombone, Fuller says, and he was entranced by the fiery playing of Morgan. Drummer Philly Joe Jones and bassist Paul Chambers came from Davis' quintet, and Kenny Drew was an old friend. The quintet recorded five numbers, and the two alternate takes of "Blue Train" and "Lazy Bird" are released here for the first time. The results were smashing. "Blue Train" was a hard-bop date with a difference, and it was the place where Coltrane's distinctive voices as a composer and improviser clearly merged and emerged. One can hear the mature Coltrane in the emphatic, straight-on-the-beat feeling in the dark melody of the 12-bar title track -- the melody suggests a minor key -- and in the equally emphatic start of his solo, where with a sudden sense of release Coltrane reveals a major blues progression. Coltrane makes Charlie Parker sound slippery and elusive: He's as forthright as Beethoven's Fifth. He's just as powerful on the uptempo "Locomotion," and the ballad "I'm Old Fashioned," which he plays with sublime conviction. His "Moment's Notice" marries a simple melody to a challenging set of chords: Coltrane recognizes the way complexity and simplicity can work together. Everyone plays beautifully throughout "Blue Train," even pianist Drew (who was just
emerging from a period in which he sounded like Horace Silver). Fuller's sober sound is an
effective foil to Morgan's bristling fire. The solos are distinctive, hard-hitting and right on, and
the rhythm section is world-class. We learn one interesting fact from the alternate tracks: The
piano solo on the original "Blue Train" was dubbed from the alternate. Unfortunately, the original
solo has disappeared. That's the only regrettable thing about "Blue Train," 'Trane's only record as a leader of Blue Note. Fuller has said that whenever he thinks about this session, he feels "blessed" to have been there. That this album has been reissued with such excellent sound, somewhat clearer and rounder than the previous compact disc version, we, too, should feel blessed.
Michael Ullman is a professor of music and English at Tufts University. He is the author of "Jazz Lives." |
