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John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy. Anti-jazzers or unrecognized visionaries? / Jazz Echo

The breathtaking album "Evenings At The Village Gate" with unreleased live recordings from 1961 underlines that John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy were musically far ahead of their time.


Jazz Echo writes….The history of jazz is paved with examples of musical innovations and upheavals that initially met with great rejection from sections of the critics and the public before they - sometimes decades later - were generally recognized and celebrated as epochal achievements. John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy also faced vehement criticism in 1961 when they toured the United States together. In the downbeatissue of November 23, 1961, a horrified critic wrote at the time: "At the Renaissance Club in Hollywood I recently heard a chilling demonstration of what appears to be a growing anti-jazz trend exemplified by these leaders [meaning Coltrane and Dolphy] of what is termed avant-garde music. [...] I heard a good rhythm section... disappear behind the nihilistic drills of the two horns... Coltrane and Dolphy seem bent on destroying the [swing]... on purpose. They seem intent on pursuing an anarchistic course in their music that can only be described as anti-jazz."

Only a few weeks before the guest performance in Hollywood,  John Coltrane had performed with his quartet and Eric Dolphy as fifth force on several evenings at New York's Village Gate . To test the club's new sound system, a recording was made that was long considered lost and was only recently discovered in the huge sound archives of the New York Public Library . For the album Evenings At The Village Gate: John Coltrane With Eric Dolphy” these rousing recordings have been audio-technically processed and are now being released for the first time on a CD, as double vinyl and in digital format. And lo and behold: What was reviled by some as “anti-jazz” is now unanimously celebrated in the press and by Coltrane fans as “visionary music”.

John Coltrane , who had just transferred from Atlantic Records to Impulse! Records changed, then guested for a whole month with rotating line-ups in the legendary New York club. On “ Evenings At The Village Gate ” he presents himself together with his musical alter ego Eric Dolphy and the musicians of his still-forming classical quartet: pianist McCoy Tyner , interim bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Elvin Jones .
Alongside some well-known Coltrane audience favorites (“ My Favorite Things ”, “ Impressions ” and “ Greensleeves ”), there is also a rendition of Benny Carter's composition When Lights Are Low , featuring Eric Dolphy in a stunning bass clarinet solo. Another highlight is the only known 23-minute live recording of the Coltrane number " Africa ", in which Art Davis joins the quintet as second bassist.

“ Evenings At The Village Gate ” provides a glimpse into the poignant but short-lived musical relationship between John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy . Although the two had met in person in Los Angeles in 1954, it was not until seven years later that they actually worked together.

This has been documented on the albums Afrika/Brass (Coltrane's debut for Impulse! Records ), Olé Coltrane (his last album for Atlantic Records) and the live album Coltrane Live At The Village Vanguard . All three albums were made between May and December 1961. With “ Evenings At The Village Gate ” this short story, which has left its mark on modern jazz, has now been expanded to include a new and exciting chapter.

The extensive booklet that accompanies the album features two individuals who were directly involved in this historic Village Gate concert : bassist Reggie Workman and sound engineer Rich Alderson . There are also insightful essays from the I mpulse! Records chronicler Ashley Kahn and jazz saxophonists Branford Marsalis and Lakecia Benjamin . In addition to the normal double LP edition with black vinyl, there is also an exclusive and limited version with vinyl in the iconic Impulse! color orange for collectors.

Find the album “Evenings At The Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy” on CD, LP and as an exclusive special edition orange vinyl in our JazzEcho store.


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