Unrequition

Just a page for my thoughts, my likes and dislikes, and some of the music I enjoy. I will be changing the format a little starting next week. I will cover a different jazz artist every week, posting information and music by them for the week to allow you to really get to appreciate them in more depth. Please feel free to make suggestions!

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#higherground #londonfog #brevelatte #chickensandwich #sunnysaturday

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On alto, Bird had been my whole influence, but on tenor I found there was no one man whose ideas were so dominant as Charlie's were on alto. Therefore, I drew from all the men I heard during this period. I have listened to about all the good tenor men, beginning with Lester [Young], and believe me, I've picked up something from them all... The reason I liked Lester so was that I could feel that line, that simplicity..." (on his early influences.)

John William Coltrane

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The previous video inspired me to post something that features Wynton Kelly a little more. In this piece, "Walkin", Coltrane takes more of a backseat role and pianist Kelly and bassist Paul Chambers plays a bigger role. Kelly plays with great precision and is just overall a very expressive player. Please enjoy.

John Coltrane - Tenor Saxophone

Wynton Kelly - Piano

Paul Chambers - Bass

Jimmy Cobb - Drums

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John Coltrane with "On Green Dolphin Street", one of my favorite pieces by him! Playing the piano is Jamaican Wynton Kelly, most famous for his work with Miles Davis. I really love his intro to this piece!

John Coltrane - Tenor Saxophone

Wynton Kelly - Piano

Paul Chambers - Bass

Jimmy Cobb - Drums

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I've found you've got to look back at the old things and see them in a new light.

John William Coltrane

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A very lively "Bahia" as performed by John Coltrane. The percussion section in the beginning almost makes me want to dance the salsa....

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Lush Life by John Coltrane.

Album: Lush Life (1957)

John Coltrane: Tenor saxophone

Donald Byrd: Trumpet for track 4

Red Garland: Piano for tracks 4-5

Earl May: Bass for tracks 1-3

Paul Chambers: Bass for tracks 4-5

Art Taylor: Drums for tracks 1-3

Louis Hayes: Drums for track 4

Albert Heath: Drums for track 5

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Sometimes I wish I could walk up to my music for the first time, as if I had never heard it before. Being so inescapably a part of it, I'll never know what the listener gets, what the listener feels, and that's too bad.

John William Coltrane

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John Coltrane's take on "Nature Boy", another pop and jazz standard. It was written by Eden Ahbez and published in 1947. The song tells the story of a "strange, enchanted boy" who wandered to many places only to find that "the greatest thing of all....was to loved and be loved in return". The song has a haunting quality, even without the slightly eerie lyrics.

The song was also used in many films, one of them being Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman's "Moulin Rouge", pretty entertaining film even though it is kind of the typical sappy love story. Kidman garnered an academy nomination for her role as Satine.

Likewise the song was performed by many notable people, one of whom made the song a hit, this person is none other than Nat King Cole (is it finally dawning on you how much I love the man and his incredible voice yet? Seeing as to how he pops up so often in my posts should give you a hint, he will definitely be one of the artists I am covering so stay tuned!).

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John Coltrane's "Invitation".

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You can play a shoestring if you're sincere.

John William Coltrane

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John Coltrane's Summertime.

John Coltrane: Tenor Saxophone

Mcoy Tyner: Piano

Elvin Jones: Drums

Jimmy Garrison: Bass

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Coltrane's version of the popular song Autumn Leaves. It was first written as a French song in 1945 called "Les Feuilles Mortes" or "Dead Leaves", but has since been translated into English and performed by many as a pop and jazz standard. It has been performed by many notable people, most famously French singer Edith Piaf and one of my personal favourites, Nat King Cole (his version has been posted as on of my earlier posts, so check it out!). So take a listen now at Coltrane's interpretation of this classic. You will find that it obviously has much more movement and range than Nat King Cole's version, which is more a showcase of Nat King Cole's fantastic baritone voice.

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I never even thought about whether or not they understand what I'm doing . . . the emotional reaction is all that matters as long as there's some feeling of communication, it isn't necessary that it be understood.

John William Coltrane

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A very relaxing and calming piece, simple as that.

Album: Cresecent 1964

John Coltrane: Tenor Saxophone

Mccoy Tyner: Piano

Jimmy Garrison: Bass

Elvin Jones: Drums

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Blue Train, one of the first albums released by Coltrane. Enjoy!

John Coltrane - Tenor Saxophone

Paul Chambers - Double Base

Kenny Drew - Piano

Curtis Fuller - Trombone

Philly Joe Jonas - Drums

Lee Morgan - Trumpet

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John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 - July 17, 1967)

Coltrane remains to be one of the most renown tenor saxophonists in jazz history. Throughout his music career, Coltrane collaborated with many other jazz artists with a rights to their names, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker (who Coltrane attributed to inspiring him to start playing in the first place), Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Bostic, Paul Chambers and Lee Morgan to name a few.

1955-1957 are generally known as the Miles and Monk period in Coltrane's career. It was in this frame of time that Coltrane released the album "Blue Train", with four of the five tracks being original Coltrane compositions. In 1958, Coltrane once again collaborated with Davis and in this period released his first album containing compositions that were entirely his own, this was his album "Giant Steps".

July 17th, 1967, Coltrane succumbed to liver cancer and passed away in Huntington Hospital in Long Island at the age of 40. Many were very shocked and caught unawares of Coltrane's condition. For those of you who don't know, liver cancer is relatively slow in presenting symptoms and is often diagnosed quite late, decreasing chances of survival. It is said that the Coltrane family still possesses a large amount of Coltrane's work that was not published. His wife, Alice Coltrane had said she meant to release it over a long period of time, but this was never accomplished in reality.

In 1982 Coltrane was awarded a posthumous grammy for "Best Jazz Solo Performance" in his album "Bye Bye", and 1997 marked his "Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award". In 2007, he was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for his "masterful improvisation, extreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz." It goes beyond a doubt that John Coltrane leaves behind a legacy that few can hope to easily attain. Even nowadays, techniques that Coltrane made use of (such as the "Coltrane changes" are still utilized. Coltrane will forever have a place in the hearts and ears of many listeners of jazz....(cheesy I know, but very true!)