John-Coltrane

Book Review: “3 Shades of Blue” — Transcendent Art, Despite Personal Demons

March 26, 2024
Posted in , , , ,

“3 Shades of Blue” is at its most compelling seen as an extended essay about drugs, creativity, the jazz life, and the mysterious nature of musical genius. 

Read More

Jazz Albums Review: Craft Recordings Reissues — Coltrane, Monk, Davis, Previn, and Vinnegar

June 11, 2023
Posted in , ,

As usual with Craft Recordings reissues, these lps are impeccably produced: the silence of the recording before the music starts is almost startling, but it’s the clear sound of what follows that is most impressive.

Read More

Jazz Album Review: Saxophonist Dave Liebman — Still Chasin’ the Trane

October 8, 2021
Posted in , , ,

At 75, Dave Liebman pays tribute to John Coltrane by still doing what Coltrane would surely have wanted him to do: to look within and find truths that are a wellspring of rewarding and challenging music for the rest of us.

Read More

Jazz Survey: Chordless Drills – A Listener’s Guide to the Saxophone Trio

November 3, 2020
Posted in ,

Here is a personal selection of recordings in the saxophone trio format. These linear collaborations have been part of the jazz scene for at least seventy years now. The results are almost always illuminating and exhilarating, and a review of them offers a miniature history of saxophone styles.

Read More

Jazz Remembrance: The Lasting, Complex Legacy of John Coltrane

September 23, 2020
Posted in , , ,

Of all the musicians who were harbingers of change, none has had the long-term influence on young musicians that John Coltrane has had.

Read More

Jazz CD Review: A “Lost” John Coltrane Recording — “Blue World”

September 4, 2019
Posted in , , ,

Blue World is valuable for its pellucid recording of takes of tunes Coltrane’s fans already love. They will have to have it.

Read More

Jazz Concert Preview: 41st John Coltrane Memorial Concert to Feature Some “Favorite Things”

December 7, 2018
Posted in , , ,

“Now I’m retired, but I still look forward to honoring the legacy of John Coltrane.”

Read More

Jazz CD Survey: Snapshots and Concepts, Summer 2018

July 21, 2018
Posted in , , ,

A baker’s dozen of recordings worth hearing . . . maybe even owning.

Read More

Jazz CD Review: Dexter Gordon and John Coltrane Redux

July 20, 2018
Posted in , , ,

The release of previously unavailable recordings from Dexter Gordon and John Coltrane are causes for celebration. Two unforgettable voices in jazz — are back!

Read More

Jazz CD Review: Coltrane’s “Lost Album” — Not the Holy Grail

July 18, 2018
Posted in , , ,

You might argue that this session was forgotten, but this new release shouldn’t be thought of as lost — because no one was looking for it

Read More

Recent Posts