coltrane shopping list
Posted by phillip Mon, 01 Nov 2004 23:00:00 GMT
compiled by esa onttonen, a finnish jazzer who seems to know.
A Love Supreme
Impulse! Lasting "only" 33 minutes is quite short on current standards, but this is one of the most important jazz albums ever and should belong to all record collections.
Crescent
Impulse! Although overshadowed by A Love Supreme, this is an equally important and influential recording, often cited by musicians (e.g. David Liebman) as their favorite Coltrane album.
Giant Steps
Atlantic Probably more musicians' than "regular listeners" favorite, this recording introduced some hard stuff for the next generations of players, including rapidly modulating "Giant Steps" and "Countdown" and the beautiful ballad dedicated to Coltrane's wife, "Naima".
Blue Train
Blue Note This is Coltrane's first major album under his own leadership and already features aspects in his compositions that would later be utilized more frequently, e.g. the major third relationship between the modulating keys in "Moment's Notice" would later appear on "Giant Steps".
Transition and Sun Ship
Impulse! Superb playing from The Quartet (Coltrane, Garrison, Tyner, Jones) - these albums stretched the word "jazz" even further into the free zone Coltrane would adopt on his later recordings.