Major Works Of John Coltrane, The - John Coltrane

Advantages: Some of the all time best jazz saxophone ever.
Disadvantages: Some ommissions.

...The Very Best of John Coltrane Some folks in commenting on a previous review wanted me to review some 'hard jazz'; well here goes. This was just one of the 'best of' or 'greatest hits' type albums, of several that have been issues since the great mans death at the tender age of 41. It seems that the saxophone 'greats' die young and tragically; Charlie Parker, Albert Ayler. Although primarily a tenor player, he also played an awful lot of soprano (as on much of this album) and occasionally alto and clarinet, though I've not heard much of this. He was an absolute giant amongst jazz saxophonists, and along with Parker, probably (though in different ways) the most influential saxophonist ever. He played with many of the greats too, in fact some of his collaborations with Miles Davies (trumpet) such as Bye Bye Blackbird, have... Read review

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Advantages: Improvisation at it's best
Disadvantages: It's sad that there are only 3 songs in that record(+ 1 bonus track)

...How can someone make a brief description of what John Coltrane was? Well, he can't in my opinion without inevitably using terms as"the tenor king", "John "I almost own jazz" coltrane" and other similar phrases of exaggeration. I guess that for some people such as the one just mentioned a some sort of "brief introduction" is impossible but I will give it a try. John Coltrane began playing clarinet and alto saxophone at the age of seventeen in the city of Philadelphia Officially , his careeer starts pretty late, considering other cats like Charlie Parker for example, at the age 29. Whose sideman was he? Miles Davis. Not too bad for a 29-old guy. He actually played on the legendary Miles Davis "kind of blue" recording. He left the Miles Davis quintet and devoted himself at a new band, with him as a bandleader. From that day until his... Read review

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Advantages: In a word.....Genius
Disadvantages: Might just stop you from getting anything done

...Whe I first heard the opening bars of "A Love Supreme" on a TV show I quickly grabbed a pen and paper and wrote down the name of the track and the artist. So began my love affair with this man's work, and, if there is a pinnacle to his extraordinary career, this is it. First conceived in late summer of 1964, this is John's gift to God based on his earlier struggles and final release from various addictions. He wrote the whole suite mainly without his instrument in an upstairs room at his Long Island house, simply "receiving" the music directly into his soul, whilst his wife Alice tended to the children downstairs. He spent several days on the music and as Alice later recalled when he would appear after working "It was like Moses coming down from the mountain, it was so beautiful. He walked down and there was that joy, that peace... Read review

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