CD Review: John Coltrane Quartet, Afro Blue Impressions (Remastered and Expanded)

Esssential

It's been 50 years. The songs on this 2-CD set were recorded in October and November 1963 in Berlin and Stockholm by Norman Granz for Pablo Records. A double LP was released in 1977, and made available on CD in 1993. This remastered edition contains the same nine songs, plus alternative versions of “Naima,” “I Want to Talk About You” and “My Favorite Things.” I missed the original LP among the flood of Coltrane albums that were released after his death. This is a most welcome reissue.

This is the classic Coltrane Quartet at the height of its almost superhuman power. As Neil Tesser's liner notes point out, these songs were recorded at a time of transition in Coltrane's development. He was moving away from what Tesser calls his “vertical period,” characterized by rapid movement up and down the harmonic structure of the songs, often referred to as “sheets of sound.” He was moving into a “horizontal period”—longer solos, often unconstrained by the harmonic structure of the song. Both of these approaches are in evidence here. The set opens with Coltrane on tenor doing “Lonnie's Lament,” a solo filled with sheets of sound.

One of the opening salvos of the horizontal period was Coltrane on soprano saxophone doing “My Favorite Things,” presented here in two versions. The 14-minute version is typical of what we're used to hearing, with Coltrane and pianist McCoy Tyner switching from major to minor keys, demonstrating the hypnotic power of repetition with an accumulation of small changes in melody and phrasing. The other version is a 21-minute masterpiece, with all of the same qualities, but more of them. It has replaced his 1963 performance (17 minutes) at Newport as my favorite version—at least until someone finds one that's 28 minutes long.

Coltrane's restless exploration is illustrated by the two versions of “I Want to Talk About You,” both of which end with extended, unaccompanied arpeggios that are almost as long as the song itself. Coltrane seemed to be leaving the quartet behind and taking off into the stratosphere.

The other soprano saxophone number in this set is “Afro Blue,” which I'm sure Coltrane chose because it has some of the same hyponotic qualities as “My Favorite Things.” You can see it here. On tenor, “Naima” and “I Want to Talk About You” are ballads. “Spiritual” is as the title implies. The other three are sheer tenor madness.

These are nine great songs, twelve great versions, all quite accessible to the Coltrane novice. The sound quality is very good for a 50-year-old live recording. The only gliches occur when Coltrane briefly turns his head away from the microphone. Coltrane's two most well known live albums are Live at the Village Vanguard (1961) and Live at Birdland (1963). This one belongs on the shelf right next to them.

Tracks, CD1: Lonnie's Lament; Naima; Chasin' the Trane; My Favorite Things; Afro Blue; Cousin Mary. (63 min.). CD2: I Want to Talk About You; Spiritual; Impressions; Naima (alternate take); I Want to Talk About You (alternate take); My Favorite Things (alternate take). (63 min.).

Personnel: John Coltrane, tenor and soprano saxophone; McCoy Tyner, piano; Jimmy Garrison, bass; Elvin Jones, drums.

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