John Coltrane Newport '63 and '65
John Coltrane - Tenor and Soprano Sax
McCoy Tyner - Piano
Jimmy Garrison - Bass
Roy Haynes - Drums ('63)
Elvin Jones - Drums ('65)
1. I Want to Talk About You
2. My Favorite Things
3. Impressions
4. Introduction of group
5. One Down, One Up
6. My Favorite Things
1-3 recorded from 1963 Newport Jazz Festival, 4-6 recorded at 1965 Newport Jazz Festival.
I was excited to see this c.d. for sale at Barnes and Noble. I have heard Coltrane's performance at the '63 Newport festival, and I have always thought it was a great recording of his sound at the time. I also found the recording interesting because Roy Haynes was subbing for Elvin Jones on the drums... I'm starting to digress. The c.d. that I found at B&N contains the 1963 performance (with a longer version of "Impressions" than previously released), as well as two songs from the band's 1965 Newport performance (with Elvin Jones back behind the kit). This multi-performance c.d. was on sale for $7.99! The advantage of becoming an avid jazz c.d. collector in the age of digital downloads is that bookstores are practically giving away amazing music.
I haven't listened to the disc enough to determine which "My Favorite Things" is superior. I do think that hearing Roy on the drums is a bit refreshing, as some of the others tried to recapture what they played on their recording two years prior. Both Roy and Elvin come up with great, rhythmic 2 against three feels throughout the song. I have always like listening to Coltrane tunes played in 3/4 time; "My Favorite Things" is one of the more popular Coltrane waltzes, but I am always excited when listening to versions of "Afro Blue" and "Greensleeves," which was recorded on the album Africa/Brass.
The first three tracks (from 1963) are great with Roy on the kit. "I Want to Talk About You" begins as a slow ballad, but the tempo surely enough gets divided into a double-time feel. "Favorite Things" is solid. "Impressions" is cooking as well. The old Newport '63 contained a truncated version of "Impressions." This "extended" version is a bit misleading; Jimmy Garrison's bass solo is pretty much completely edited out! The reason for this is because of a live technical difficulty during the concert. Jimmy's bass was so distorted, that the recording engineers felt they could not modify it to sound reasonable for the recording. Therefore, Jimmy plays about two measures of what probably was a five minute long bass solo and then starts walking in d minor to cue the head of "Impressions."
The last two songs are also top notch. I wanted to hear a recording of Coltrane playing "One Down, One Up," because I had just heard a Milwaukee guitarist (Steve Peplin) perform the tune with his sextet. The Newport '65 recording did not dissapoint me. There was great playing by all the musicians. The '65 performance ends with the crowd screaming for more, but the m.c. informs the audience that the band can not perform past the area's curfew.
This is a really great deal. If you don't have many Coltrane recordings, this would be a great purchase. You pretty much get two records for less than the price of one.
p.s. Roy Haynes is still playing in his 80's. Check him out.
