John Coltrane: The 1961 Newport Set

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Eric Dolphy (as, arr)
Art Davis (b)
John Coltrane
Reggie Workman (b)
McCoy Tyner (p)
Elvin Jones (d)
John Coltrane (ts)

Label:

Solar

October/2012

Catalogue Number:

4569918

RecordDate:

1 July-22 November 1961

Coltrane may be gone these 45 years, but he's the gift that keeps on giving. In the space of one week, I was played an interesting unissued 1963 tape I'd never heard, and I received this typical 1961 material, previously on a blank-label LP and believed to be on CD for the first time. The Newport set actually lasts less than half-an-hour, including the stage intro, but has relatively sober versions of ‘Impressions’, ‘Naima’ (possibly the only version to be preserved of the unamended tune with Tyner on piano) and the inevitable ‘My Favorite Things’. The sound is good if rather harsh, whereas the bonus material (though pitch-corrected) is more muffled and suffers some flutter. Taped by a radio producer in Helsinki on Trane's first European tour, it repeats ‘Impressions’ and ‘Favorite’ with the addition of Dolphy (at great length on the latter), preceded by ‘I Want To Talk About You’ without either Dolphy or its cadenza, and opens with a straight ahead-ish quintet version of ‘Blue Train’. Revealing and rewarding if not essential.

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