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Sonic Loops: Eight Miles High on the Psychedelic Trane
by Alan Bryson
In the popular music of the '50s, the landscape revolved around individual vocalists, vocal harmony groups, and instrumental ensembles. In the early '60s, something radical emerged: self-contained groups--a collective of individuals with a group dynamic and identity. They wrote, sang, played instruments, and performed as a unified artistic whole. This represented a structural revolution in how music was conceived, recorded, and experienced. This group dynamic helped shift popular music away from the dance-oriented 45-rpm single back toward the ...
Continue ReadingHow John Coltrane Changed Rock Music: Beyond Psychedelia
by Kyle Simpler
Something happened to me Something oh so groovy Something happened to me yesterday These lines are from The Rolling Stones' 1967 song, “Something Happened To Me Yesterday." Although not one of The Stones' most memorable hits, it does hint at some important considerations. First, and possibly foremost, this song is often interpreted as reflecting the era's fascination with LSD, and shortly after the release of this song, psychedelia quickly became part of the mainstream. Second, ...
Continue ReadingA Love Supreme at Carnegie Hall: Coltrane’s Night of Fire and Grace
by Dave Kaufman
Carnegie Hall, New York City--November 1965. Something sacred broke open the air last night. It began not with a note, but with a shimmer. Elvin Jones washed a mallet across a suspended gong, a metallic exhale that seemed to expand until it touched the gilded balconies of Carnegie Hall. The silence that followed was heavy, not empty--the kind of silence that waits for a prophecy. When John Coltrane stepped forward, flanked by McCoy Tyner and Jimmy ...
Continue ReadingHoliday Notes Across A Hallway
by Arthur R George
A knock on the door of Augie Cannataro's apartment. He peered through the security window to see the single mother from across the hall. They had always nodded politely at each other when passing in the lobby or hallway. He was respectful but didn't want to approach an involvement in whatever her life was with her son, who Cannataro had also seen in passing and had heard through the walls of their apartments making painful attempts at saxophone practice.
Continue ReadingHomage to John Coltrane, Including the Album A Love Supreme Interpreted By Four Different Jazz Musicians
by David W. Daniels
Our annual tribute to John Coltrane on the week of his birthday--His music as interpreted by Billy Bang, Bob Mintzer Big Band, Kenny Garrett, Larry Coryell and more. Includes a rendering of the album A Love Supreme with four different jazz artists performing each part of the four-part composition. Playlist John Coltrane “Giant Steps"--from Giant Steps (Atlantic) 00:00 Billy Bang “Mr. Syms"--from Bang On! (Justin Time) 07:34 Nicolas Bearde “Naima"--from All About Love (Expansion) 14:14 Joel Ross “Equinox"--from ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: Miles '55: The Prestige Recordings
by Richard J Salvucci
It is hard to imagine any casual jazz fan failing a blindfold test on the vinyls on offer here. It is a game people play: how quickly can you identify the performer. A lot of horn players make it into the competition, because horns are boisterous and mimic the human voice and persona. Clark Terry, some say, requires one note. And for much of his career, starting in the mid-1950s, a compatriot and mentee of Terry's: Miles Davis was equally ...
Continue ReadingThelonious Monk, John Coltrane: Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane 1957. Revisited.
by Stefano Merighi
Ci sono sodalizi artistici che segnano in maniera indelebile la ricchezza creativa dei protagonisti. Tra questi, di sicuro quello tra Thelonious Monk e John Coltrane, anno di grazia 1957. L'estroso pianista e compositore, ancora lontano dal ricevere i riconoscimenti meritati, trova finalmente qualcuno che interpreta le sue partiture con rara dialettica esecutiva: leggerezza e profondità, acume sottile e abbandono istintivo. L'apollineo sassofonista, all'epoca ancora turbato dalla tossicodipendenza, passa dalla frustrazione di un licenziamento da parte di ...
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