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John Coltrane collectors will want to pick up this intriguing CD w/Eric Dolphy: 'Evenings At The Village Gate' / LA Jazz Scene

In the summer of 1961, John Coltrane headlined at the celebrated music venue, the Village Gate. With a lineup of musicians that included McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman, Elvin Jones, and the fiery playing of Eric Dolphy, Evenings at the Village Gate captures the creative and transformative spirit that sprang from the pairing of Coltrane and Dolphy, and the evolving short-lived quintet.

Evenings At The Village Gate: John Coltrane With Eric Dolphy was released globally July 14 on Impulse! Records/UMe. The first track from the fabled performances, “Impressions,” is available now and you can listen to the track and pre-order the album here.  You can also order a special edition orange vinyl variant here.

Recently discovered at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the recordings on this album—recorded by engineer Rich Alderson as part of a test of the club's new sound system—were seemingly lost, then found, and then disappeared again into the vast sound archives of the Library for the Performing Arts.  The tapes’ circuitous route over several decades seemingly mirrors Coltrane's ongoing musical journey in August of 1961.


LA Jazz Scene's Scott Yanow writes…..When newly discovered performances by John Coltrane are released, several questions come to mind. Does the “new” music add to the innovative saxophonist’s legacy, is it well recorded, and how does the set rank with his other recordings of the era?

Evenings At The Village Gate has music taken from two nights during a month- long residency by the Coltrane Quintet at New York’s Village Gate in August 1961. At the time the Coltrane group with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Elvin Jones was joined regularly by Eric Dolphy (alto, flute and bass clarinet) and, on certain nights, second bassist Art Davis. The recording quality from these recently unearthed tapes is pretty good for a live album of the period with the five lengthy performances clocking in between 10 and 23 minutes.

While these energetic and inventive versions of “My Favorite Things” and “Impressions” pale next to the more definitive renditions, the Village Gate set also includes three numbers that Coltrane played much less frequently. “When Lights Are Low” was performed as a feature for Dolphy on bass clarinet. Happily Coltrane also stretches out on that number on soprano. His only other recording of it was with the Miles Davis Quintet in 1956. He played “Greensleeves” frequently during 1961 in a manner similar to “My Favorite Things,” stretching out at great length on a vamp. It was recorded for his Africa/Brass project at the Village Vanguard in Nov. 1961 with Dolphy, and on his Ballads album but in both cases the music was not released until years later. “Africa” was the centerpiece for the Africa/Brass album which featured Coltrane with a large ensemble but this is the only version ever released of him playing it with his working group. The lengthiest performance of the set, “Africa” has Coltrane and Dolphy creating some junglelike sounds during the theme (a device that they and several brass instruments created on the studio recording) and features a drum solo from Jones.

While Dolphy adds some variety to the music, he tended to sound more at home on his own sessions (where he could perform his own music) and with Charles Mingus where his very original conceptions could be heard sailing over fairly straight ahead chord structures.

Coltrane’s music of the time was labelled “anti-jazz” by a few of the more conservative jazz critics and, one can understand some of their criticisms since there are intense stretches where the horn solos go on a bit long and where one is waiting for something to happen. This is not bebop and familiar chord sequences are largely absent. However the chance taking aspects of the music, the often-hypnotic drones, and the sheer energy of the performers as they break the musical sound barrier are often irresistible.

John Coltrane collectors will certainly want to pick up this intriguing CD which also includes a booklet that has insightful interviews with Reggie Workman, engineer Rich Alderson (who recorded the dates), Lakecia Benjamin, and Branford Marsalis. The more general collector should acquire Coltrane’s My Favorite Things and Africa/Brass albums first since they are more accessible and concise. Becoming familiar with those studio albums from the period adds to one’s understanding of how John Coltrane’s live performances differed from his studio dates during his rapid musical evolution. Evenings At The Village Gate is available from www.impulserecords.com and www.amazon.com.
 

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