All of the above posts which I've done about John Coltrane aren't merely insightful looks into the work ethic of the man himself or what made each of the albums I assessed my special favorites in the first place. Surely, I didn't provide a cursory look into each of the recordings I reviewed & leave it at that...I actually listened to them pretty thoroughly before putting in my own words why they stand out as my favorite Coltrane releases ever.
Of course, some of Coltrane's music is not for everyone (one particular case in point being his late-period output); to some, he might come across as a man screaming out demons on the tenor (occasionally soprano) saxophone. Some might think of his playing as forceful, aggressive, just downright intense as intense can be. Some may remark that his playing is a ton of sonic dreck. Yet others sincerely regard Coltrane as a pure lyrical & musical genius, as good as jazz musicians ever got in their lifetimes. Either way, the best way to know more about the man is to approach his music with an open heart, an open mind & open ears.
Just a brief list of the must-haves to make your Coltrane collection stand out:
Giant Steps
My Favorite Things (both albums serve as the peak of his work on the Atlantic label)
A Love Supreme
Live At Birdland
Ballads (Trane was a master of ballads & this recording shows just why he was)
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (an awesome flippin' classic!!)
At any rate, Coltrane released a prolific amount of recordings but the ones which I just mentioned are a good starting point to delve into his music. Wherever your ears go next in the Coltrane discography is up to you to decide.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment