This is the first song of Trane i heard...i was 15....It opened my mind immediately...after the end, i stayed 15 minutes without saying a word, without thinking......I think this is definitively the best music i ever heard.....
I was introduced to jazz by a colleague and the LP was all blues by Miles asked to pay attention to the tenor sax and ever since I've been hooked to Coltrane, this was in 1975 . I started collecting his lps and recording where he's a side man about. I've got ahuge collection of his music. I am now 77 and still looking for ' something new from him '😅
What may shock some, but probably few Coltrane fans, is that the Saxophone is an Instrument designed for Acoustic listening, meaning the closer you are to it, the more you can hear. Now, that said, imagine how much more sonically is available to you, when you could hear Coltrane's Tenor Live. There must have been nothing like it! Long live the Saxophone Operators, keeping the Music Alive! (same goes for all instruments of jazz too)
Your absolutely right! That sonic element you speak of is the spirit of that individual! Coltrane's ability to convey this idea was paramount! It was also very personal. A quality that is a vehicle for this music. John was unique. His sound his attack and his intentions. I found his music in 1964 I've never let it go. And I've yet to find anything quite like it.... The Gospel of John.
Personally I prefer to have this incredible recording available to me whenever I want to listen to it... ...without having to tolerate the 'live experience' - the sound of people chatting, clinking glasses, uncomfortable seats, too much standing, the smell of lager, the stinky toilets, sub-standard speaker systems, rooms that are acoustically poor and echo-ey, etc., etc., etc...
I was a punk rocker in the seventies, still am LOL, going to a punk show tomorrow as I do almost every weekend. But isn't it strange how some musician can open your ear, open your heart, open your soul and u walk into their music and never leave and it will always be a part of you. I love all of the famous jazz sax men but Coltrane is it for me, by far.
It made my heart beat faster and cut my breath when I first listened to it 20 years ago. It did the same today. In difficult times, their energy and spirit makes us all feel stronger.
This is one of Coltrane work portraying the beauty of Africa musically. The composition captured all the elements of creation and development of Africa as a mystical creation. The beauty and the mystery of Africa are fused into continuous polyrythimous sound that reflect the completeness of creation without looking at one particular spot. The complexity of the composition is reduced by Coltrane taking leadership to direct and give direction as to where to go. Coltrane might have never set foot in Africa, he was able to understand what Africa was all about in the great scheme of things . Praise be bestowed to him to have taken a giant step to parade the beauty and mystry of the mother land.
Atmospheric and if you really vibe with it, you can feel how Coltrane is initially framing the soundscape based on traditional perceptions of what we call 'Africa'...and as the song unfolds, the depth, majesty, beauty and complexity of Africa is clearly articulated and you are transported. Listening to this and thinking about my first trip to Africa (Kenya) never fails to leave me without tears. John Coltrane was an angel and Jones, Garrison, Tyner, and Dolphy are his mighty cohorts on this transcendent work.
I feel you. In 2019 I returned to the former Slave Coast.......One biggest Slave Port in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds the town of Ouidah Benin. As I along the slave route Coltrane Africa and Alabama playing in my head a true Deja Vu moment.
My interests piqued while working on my literature review chapter for my master's thesis. John Coltrane was clearly influenced by the Civil Rights era, Black Power and the Black Arts movements. This is purely genius! This brother was something special.
Coltrane *influenced* the Black Power and Black Arts movement. Coltrane had been a revolutionary force in music since 1957. Amiri Baraka (as LeRoi Jones) wrote the liner notes to Coltrane's Live at Birdland. Baraka said "Trane was our flag." Coltrane did go see Malcolm X speak once, and he recorded a song called "Reverend King" in 1966. "Alabama" was written not long after the 1963 church bombing.
Nate Wicks hey. did u. ever. go. SF. CA? church. there. called. Church Of St John Coltrane. i. was. fortunate. to. attend a. BD. celebration. of. Trane's in. city. hall. one. of. church. deacons. did. his. dissertation. on. Trane. they. love. him. there. on Tuesdays. there's. a radio program. nothing. but. Trane. is. played. all p m. wat. can. I. say??!!!!! heaven,,!!!
My mornings used to be Africa, bong hits, Transition, bong hits, Transition, bong, Africa, bong, Transition, bong, head to shed all day. Trane was life changing for me. Truly. So much love and dedication. And he literally changed how people of all genres all instruments, played music through his innovations. 3 times(three!)! And consider his entire recording career was only 11 years!!! Focus. Dedication. Creation. Love. Empathy. Fearlessness.
No. You're just not looking hard enough. Go explore some prog metal and grunge, or some Second Viennese school compositions, or some tango and cumbia. Maybe some Neo-soul? Jacob Collier? Ya know what, listen to some blues, like Muddy Waters. Everything American's the blues, so that should work.
Superb artist Sir John Coltrane. A must for everyone's music collection!! Elvin Jones; you are a master of percussion. And Paul Chambers on Bass. A wonderful collection of artists.
Two bad bassists Chambers and reggie workman !! Another ex of 2 master upright performing together lee Morgan "in what direction are you headed" Worknan and Jinnie Merritt on basses !!
-Africa brass- : John Coltrane Orchestra: Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard (tp) Julian Priester, Charles Greenlee (euphonium) Julius Watkins, Donald Corrado, Bob Northern, Jim Buffington, Robert Swisshelm (fhr) Bill Barber (tu) Eric Dolphy (as,fl,b-cl) John Coltrane (ts-1,sop-2) Garvin Bushell (reeds, woodwinds) Laurdine "Pat" Patrick (bar) McCoy Tyner (p) Reggie Workman (b) Paul Chambers (b-3) Elvin Jones (d) Englewood Cliffs, N.J., May 23, 1961
The more I listen to Trane , I totally understand his love for his Creator the Almighty God. His mindset was beyond the normal. No electric just pure heart and soul.
I can't believe 4 people disliked this. They must e hit the wrong button by mistake because even the hearing impaired can fell how great this music is!
@@chrisbatson3402 dammit yes!!!! You cannot listen to one of THE quartet without listening to ALL of them!!! And I get it. The guy may play that particular instrument, but this group is unlike any ever assembled. It's the definition of synergy to hear them play together! 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🔥🔥🔥👍🏽
Staggering music! And, as has been mentioned elsewhere, this, rather than "India", is the BIG influence on the Byrds "Eight Miles High". Indeed, it was the Byrds who got me into Coltrane!
Not to rag on the Byrds, but the fact John Bonham was obsessed with Elvin Jones might be more fun of a fact. Created entire new pop genres like "hard rock," "heavy metal," "punk."
gibberconfirm, Thanks for your reply. Interesting thought but a slightly different topic surely? Whether "Africa" or "India" is the main influence on the Byrds in 1966, not what came afterwards. It's McGuinn's 12-string where the "Africa" influence is most obvious and he was/is a folkie, not really a rock man at all. Remember "EMH" was recorded originally in December '65 and then again in January '66, nearly four years before Led Zeppelin began which in the sixties was some time span. As a former drummer, I don't personally hear the influence of Jones on Bonham, whether or not Bonham was obsessed with him. Ginger Baker definitely. Not quite sure about Jones's, or Coltrane's for that matter, impact on heavy rock and punk (unless you're referring to jazz-rock, such as Mahavishnu and Santana and to post-punk outfits like Husker Du or Firehose, for instance). I'm sure the Grateful Dead's earlier extended live pieces owed a bit to Coltrane too. Mind you, it took them two drummers to come anywhere near the engine-room that was Elvin.....
Elvin's restrained on this piece (RUclips is bugging out on me, I actually thought I was on a different Coltrane comment section,) but check out Afro-Blue from 1963 commercial release "Live at Birdland," it's LOUD...definitely what Bonham and Ginger Baker and Bill Ward were trying to get at.
gibberconfirm , Fair enough but I suppose many drummers would cite EJ as major influence. I remember when I first heard him (never live, sadly) thinking, "What's the point of trying?" Even Michael Clarke, a much better drummer than he is given credit for and when he wanted to be ( listen to his drumming on 5D, I See You, What's Happening, the original Why and, of course, Eight Miles High), cited Jones along with Joe Morello, as his idols. My favourite drummers have all been jazzmen : Buddy Rich, Shelly Manne, Louis Bellson, Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, Chico Hamilton and the aforementioned two, for example.
Saw Alfred McCoy Tyner on recent “chasing the Trane” documentary. Jimmy, Elvin and McCoy must have had the time of their lives. McCoy still looked magnificent. Legends.
Eric O'Brien - It’s possibly the first full Stereo Drum Spread... the Stereo Drums is only for the solo and the transition out of the solo... You can hear them gradually pulling out the other instruments gradually and Elvin starts the solo with limited drumming... Then the drums spread throughout the Stereo field/sound stage... Sounds like they switched around the channels gradually going in out of the solo as it goes back to Mono Drums for the rest of the track... Recorded live to two track tape so the original Multitrack tape is also the mixed down master... I think this was recorded at the producer’s house in New Jersey. Something like that...
Listen to the saxophone harmonics at 2:47. What a pity Coltrane didn't make more records with big bands. His talent was phenomenal and needed a large ensemble to contain it.
I've following Coltrane since the sixties, one of the most powerful attractions for me was his uniqueness and tonal quality! But his sense of rythm makes it all work He created a whole new musical conversation
I happened to have read a book about the African slave trade not long before I first heard this. In the intro I saw future slaves captured and gathered at the shore as the slave ship that would take them away from everything they knew first appeared on the horizon. I feel their utter sense if chaos and horror in this song. When I knew John was special.
I think that this was Coltrane’s best solo up to this point in his career. He’d never played this way before, with such aggression, edginess and fire. The modal structure of the song, I think, is what led him to blow so freely. Thoughts anyone?
Yes, its right around that time. Late 61 was when he began playing in this way. If one had bootlegs of him from late 60 to late 61 it would be most definitive.
@@davidwhite2949 It was the sheer harmonic breadth of the solo that suggested modality to me. I don’t have the musical knowledge that would enable me to identify or discern the specific mode(-s) being played, as to whether it’s Lydian, Dorian, Phrygian, etc. However, I did know one of the musicians who played on the “Africa Brass” sessions, the late French horn player Robert Northern. He played with many other notable jazz musicians including Monk, Miles, Sun Ra, Don Cherry and John Lewis. He also taught music at Brown University and Dartmouth College. For many years Northern, known as Brother Ah, was a jazz broadcaster at radio station WPFW in Washington, DC. I also host a jazz program at that station. He told me that the compositional framework of the song ‘Africa’ was indeed modal, and cited that as the contributing factor for the broad tonality of which Trane’s amazing solo was constructed. I wish that I had asked for him to identify the specific modal arrangement or structure of the song. I’m sure that there are people who can.
To say it was his best is pointed, but I understand! Personally I think he was changing! He did that often. His sense of time and space musically was changing the conversation!
When I listen to real jazz it takes my mind and spirit to a oneness with self and God my creator. There is no music on the planet that comes to it. Trane , Miles, Lee, Monk, Shorter, Hancock,Blakely ,Sliver , and so many others. But trane he was in a demention unknown to jazz other than Sun Ra . Brilliant,Soul and Holy Spirit.
Oh my god I love the part where it sounds like children is warming up in a school band and Coltrane....panic and took back over..!!!....the coolest sounds one can imagine!
Listen to 'Trane's album,"Meditations",on the 1st track,there's a dual drum/bass solo...,I've played this to people & asked them to identify the musicians.Invariably they'd answer, "while its Phil w/Bill & Mickey",unbeknownst it was really the legendary rhythm section of Jimmy Garrison,Elvin Jones,& Rashid Ali!
Thanks for the tip, man! I'll be sure to check it out :) Might even play it on my radio show and give you a shoutout...It's crazy how such similar sounding music can be created over years, nations and ethnicities, sometimes unbeknownst to the respective others. Deep
John Coltrane: the Master of Surprise. With the pianist from Atlantis, McCoy Tyner (6:52), sounding like Bud Powell and a santoor; the hard-boppin' horn of Freddie Hubbard; and Eric Dolphy's cosmic rows; Elvin Jones on drums. Amazing jam session.
This contains one of the first if not the very first full Stereo drum spreads on any record in any genre. The drums begin in Mono, panned to the right. The beginning of the drum solo is in Mono but it segues into a full Stereo spread although the drum mix is somewhat right channel dominant for much of the solo. Then when the Bass returns the drums are still full Stereo but then the drums go back to being right channel Panned for the remainder of the track. It’s likely that the Bass and drums where sharing the same input and thus the same location in the Stereo Picture/Soundstage. This was recorded on two track live in the producer’s Home if I’m not mistaken so the inputs for the drum mics and the other instruments would have had to have been changed out on the fly and the back again. The Bass exits last prior to the solo and is the first to return... Not sure the drums and bass are on the same exact “line” though...
Ancient_Archive_Of_Sound - Yes I’m assuming a minimum of mics on the drums. They only used a few mics on a lot of the Rock Stereo spreads in the late 60s to early 70s. Pictures of Bonham in the late 60s show two mics spread out up top and maybe one on the Bass Drum. Thanks for the explanation.. It helps to explain some things. The open mic for Coltrane with the drums spilling over. I had read that the studio was in the home. I may have imagined the living room. Again, thanks... When I take my right headphone off and listen to the left (with the full Quartet) I do hear some drums and other instruments faintly. Obviously there is going to be lots of bleeding with live tracking in a home studio. Are you saying it was something of an accident that there is Stereo imaging on the drum solo caused by mic bleed? I’m willing to accept that with the lopsided nature of the spread. I don’t want to put words into your mouth. The next thing I can find that’s a full spread (maybe this track is kind of like a 1 and a 1/2 spread by accident?) is The Pentangle (May 1968) on a few songs/drum solos... Pentangle sounds more intentional. And then Wheels Of Fire by Cream (August 68) is full blown full Stereo drums on both the studio and live discs. Then there was something of an avalanche of full spreads on drums in 69’ going forward. When I first stumbled onto this the headphones I was using had a narrower soundstage so the drums on the Africa solo sounded wider, if that makes any sense. On these cans I have now it sounds so much more “right channel”.
Ancient_Archive_Of_Sound - Yes, basically your multitrack (2 in this case) tapes and your master tapes are one and the same like the live “Betty Reels” recorded direct to 2 track tape for the Grateful Dead. Frank Black recorded some stuff like that as well. Can’t go in and remix it...
Ancient_Archive_Of_Sound - I think this was released in Mono as well. I’m guessing they “folded it down” onto one track tape. In some ways it was a better way to record. You might have them record several versions of some things and you might have to have more rehearsals to get everyone on the same page. But I think you get a more inspired and less mechanical performance.
Ancient_Archive_Of_Sound - Thanks again. I’m listening to this in closed back monitor headphones instead of my Grado Labs phones and it sounds more intentional but I think you are correct that it wasn’t intentional. If the cymbals were closer to the Saxophone mic that’s where some of that effect is coming in... On the Grados things that are far left or right tend to not be as loud especially if they are “leaking” sounds. On the closed back cans everything is closer to the middle which makes it sound more “together”...
Fans of this may like Las Vegas Tango from Individualism of Gil Evans by... Gil Evans. unsurprising rhythmically - Elvin Jones played drums on both tracks.
This is the first song of Trane i heard...i was 15....It opened my mind immediately...after the end, i stayed 15 minutes without saying a word, without thinking......I think this is definitively the best music i ever heard.....
😊
I was introduced to jazz by a colleague and the LP was all blues by Miles asked to pay attention to the tenor sax and ever since I've been hooked to Coltrane, this was in 1975 . I started collecting his lps and recording where he's a side man about. I've got ahuge collection of his music. I am now 77 and still looking for ' something new from him '😅
Check out the album Blue World
What may shock some, but probably few Coltrane fans, is that the Saxophone is an Instrument designed for Acoustic listening, meaning the closer you are to it, the more you can hear. Now, that said, imagine how much more sonically is available to you, when you could hear Coltrane's Tenor Live. There must have been nothing like it! Long live the Saxophone Operators, keeping the Music Alive! (same goes for all instruments of jazz too)
in other words, if microphones could capture this, imagine the Live experience! same goes for symphonies & classical
Man, stop talking and pass that shit.
Your absolutely right! That sonic element you speak of is the spirit of that individual! Coltrane's ability to convey this idea was paramount! It was also very personal. A quality that is a vehicle for this music. John was unique. His sound his attack and his intentions. I found his music in 1964 I've never let it go. And I've yet to find anything quite like it.... The Gospel of John.
Personally I prefer to have this incredible recording available to me whenever I want to listen to it...
...without having to tolerate the 'live experience' - the sound of people chatting, clinking glasses, uncomfortable seats, too much standing, the smell of lager, the stinky toilets, sub-standard speaker systems, rooms that are acoustically poor and echo-ey, etc., etc., etc...
@@jonathanschotten1410 It is all part of the experience. It is all acoustic.
God bless Africa forever!
I was a punk rocker in the seventies, still am LOL, going to a punk show tomorrow as I do almost every weekend. But isn't it strange how some musician can open your ear, open your heart, open your soul and u walk into their music and never leave and it will always be a part of you. I love all of the famous jazz sax men but Coltrane is it for me, by far.
Listen to Pat Martino
Keep your heart and your ears clean for better learning experiences
The Gospel of John
Same here -- in some ways, punk was my gateway to Jazz. For me, it's Coltrane and Eric Dolphy and Monk.
jazz is the most punk rock
Mr. Elvin Jones the greatest jazz drummer that ever lived And that’s not even debatable
Ok but with Max Roach...don't forget...
Standing ovation sir.
Amazing drumming. Powerful stuff.
Don't sleep on ART BLAKEY!!🎼
HUMAN DRUM MACHINE SOOO AMAZING
One of the best intros of all times.
I gained a deeper understanding by listening to this masterpiece. A seriously profound piece of music.
"My music is the spiritual expression of what I am - my faith, my knowledge, my being."
John Coltrane
How so?
Master piece... cosmic sermon for those who's spiritual wifi is up! The Gospel of John
It made my heart beat faster and cut my breath when I first listened to it 20 years ago. It did the same today. In difficult times, their energy and spirit makes us all feel stronger.
The Gospel of John
what about now
A beautiful rawness elegance and spiritually sublime...the Gospel of John
The greatest thing I've ever heard
This is one of Coltrane work portraying the beauty of Africa musically. The composition captured all the elements of creation and development of Africa as a mystical creation. The beauty and the mystery of Africa are fused into continuous polyrythimous sound that reflect the completeness of creation without looking at one particular spot. The complexity of the composition is reduced by Coltrane taking leadership to direct and give direction as to where to go. Coltrane might have never set foot in Africa, he was able to understand what Africa was all about in the great scheme of things . Praise be bestowed to him to have taken a giant step to parade the beauty and mystry of the mother land.
HOLY F*** , beyond music
Atmospheric and if you really vibe with it, you can feel how Coltrane is initially framing the soundscape based on traditional perceptions of what we call 'Africa'...and as the song unfolds, the depth, majesty, beauty and complexity of Africa is clearly articulated and you are transported. Listening to this and thinking about my first trip to Africa (Kenya) never fails to leave me without tears. John Coltrane was an angel and Jones, Garrison, Tyner, and Dolphy are his mighty cohorts on this transcendent work.
Your comment is profound and true, thank you!
I feel you. In 2019 I returned to the former Slave Coast.......One biggest Slave Port in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds the town of Ouidah Benin. As I along the slave route Coltrane Africa and Alabama playing in my head a true Deja Vu moment.
God has brought me here.
The Gospel of John
Thank HIM
My interests piqued while working on my literature review chapter for my master's thesis. John Coltrane was clearly influenced by the Civil Rights era, Black Power and the Black Arts movements. This is purely genius! This brother was something special.
Coltrane *influenced* the Black Power and Black Arts movement. Coltrane had been a revolutionary force in music since 1957. Amiri Baraka (as LeRoi Jones) wrote the liner notes to Coltrane's Live at Birdland. Baraka said "Trane was our flag." Coltrane did go see Malcolm X speak once, and he recorded a song called "Reverend King" in 1966. "Alabama" was written not long after the 1963 church bombing.
Nate Wicks hey. did u. ever. go. SF. CA? church. there. called. Church Of St John Coltrane. i. was. fortunate. to. attend a. BD. celebration. of. Trane's in. city. hall. one. of. church. deacons. did. his. dissertation. on. Trane. they. love. him. there. on Tuesdays. there's. a radio program. nothing. but. Trane. is. played. all p m. wat. can. I. say??!!!!! heaven,,!!!
The guy was searching for 'the REAL' and was one of the first to find it.
some say mathematically he was on the level with Eintein
It is that historical mix which created the real funk .
My mornings used to be Africa, bong hits, Transition, bong hits, Transition, bong, Africa, bong, Transition, bong, head to shed all day. Trane was life changing for me. Truly. So much love and dedication. And he literally changed how people of all genres all instruments, played music through his innovations. 3 times(three!)! And consider his entire recording career was only 11 years!!! Focus. Dedication. Creation. Love. Empathy. Fearlessness.
I remember hearing this once many years ago on the radio. Having just rediscovered it, I still stunned by it... B-)
For a brief period music was more important than money, and people actually listened.
No. You're just not looking hard enough.
Go explore some prog metal and grunge, or some Second Viennese school compositions, or some tango and cumbia. Maybe some Neo-soul? Jacob Collier? Ya know what, listen to some blues, like Muddy Waters. Everything American's the blues, so that should work.
Superb artist Sir John Coltrane. A must for everyone's music collection!! Elvin Jones; you are a master of percussion. And Paul Chambers on Bass. A wonderful collection of artists.
Jimmy Garrison*.
Indeed
& ... McCoy MotherFucking Tyner!!! on keys
Two bad bassists Chambers and reggie workman !! Another ex of 2 master upright performing together lee Morgan "in what direction are you headed" Worknan and Jinnie Merritt on basses !!
-Africa brass- : John Coltrane Orchestra: Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard (tp) Julian Priester, Charles
Greenlee (euphonium) Julius Watkins, Donald Corrado, Bob Northern, Jim Buffington, Robert Swisshelm (fhr)
Bill Barber (tu) Eric Dolphy (as,fl,b-cl) John Coltrane (ts-1,sop-2) Garvin Bushell (reeds, woodwinds)
Laurdine "Pat" Patrick (bar) McCoy Tyner (p) Reggie Workman (b) Paul Chambers (b-3) Elvin Jones (d)
Englewood Cliffs, N.J., May 23, 1961
thanks.
Billies Bounce back
Yeah, thank you
This is awesome. Thank you.
Tenia una banda inmensa!
This goes betond music, beyond jazz.. Trane lives!!
This is a true masterpiece. I had to look for this.
One of the best album of Coltrane. When i bought this one 20 years ago, i got smached. Aweeeesome track!!!! The soprano is dazzling you
The more I listen to Trane , I totally understand his love for his Creator the Almighty God. His mindset was beyond the normal. No electric just pure heart and soul.
I can't believe 4 people disliked this. They must e hit the wrong button by mistake because even the hearing impaired can fell how great this music is!
They are deaf !
Hearing impaired indeed....
They probably never even learned to play "Chopsticks".
from justin bieber fans
No surprise...stupids mother is always pregnant...don't care they.
Oh this is absolutely heavenly!
Amazing Mc Coy Tyner solo at 6:20 joined in with african animal sounds by others!!!
My favorite musician of all time. Beyond inspiring.
Listen to the Mastery of Elvin Jones
Listen to the mastery of the every musician in this Ensamble and the composition itself.
@@chrisbatson3402 dammit yes!!!! You cannot listen to one of THE quartet without listening to ALL of them!!! And I get it. The guy may play that particular instrument, but this group is unlike any ever assembled. It's the definition of synergy to hear them play together! 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🔥🔥🔥👍🏽
Staggering music! And, as has been mentioned elsewhere, this, rather than "India", is the BIG influence on the Byrds "Eight Miles High". Indeed, it was the Byrds who got me into Coltrane!
Not to rag on the Byrds, but the fact John Bonham was obsessed with Elvin Jones might be more fun of a fact. Created entire new pop genres like "hard rock," "heavy metal," "punk."
gibberconfirm, Thanks for your reply. Interesting thought but a slightly different topic surely? Whether "Africa" or "India" is the main influence on the Byrds in 1966, not what came afterwards. It's McGuinn's 12-string where the "Africa" influence is most obvious and he was/is a folkie, not really a rock man at all. Remember "EMH" was recorded originally in December '65 and then again in January '66, nearly four years before Led Zeppelin began which in the sixties was some time span. As a former drummer, I don't personally hear the influence of Jones on Bonham, whether or not Bonham was obsessed with him. Ginger Baker definitely. Not quite sure about Jones's, or Coltrane's for that matter, impact on heavy rock and punk (unless you're referring to jazz-rock, such as Mahavishnu and Santana and to post-punk outfits like Husker Du or Firehose, for instance). I'm sure the Grateful Dead's earlier extended live pieces owed a bit to Coltrane too. Mind you, it took them two drummers to come anywhere near the engine-room that was Elvin.....
Elvin's restrained on this piece (RUclips is bugging out on me, I actually thought I was on a different Coltrane comment section,) but check out Afro-Blue from 1963 commercial release "Live at Birdland," it's LOUD...definitely what Bonham and Ginger Baker and Bill Ward were trying to get at.
gibberconfirm , Fair enough but I suppose many drummers would cite EJ as major influence. I remember when I first heard him (never live, sadly) thinking, "What's the point of trying?" Even Michael Clarke, a much better drummer than he is given credit for and when he wanted to be ( listen to his drumming on 5D, I See You, What's Happening, the original Why and, of course, Eight Miles High), cited Jones along with Joe Morello, as his idols. My favourite drummers have all been jazzmen : Buddy Rich, Shelly Manne, Louis Bellson, Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, Chico Hamilton and the aforementioned two, for example.
Unbelievable
I heard of this after reading Steve Reich's comments on it in the November '16 BBC Music Magazine. I can't believe I've missed it until now.
Brian Ratekin Steve Reich and people like him make me puke, I can’t understand how anyone loving this music can bear that crap.
eric dolphy's whooping brass arrangements. fantastic.
Ooh. So beautiful.
This song haunted me for days after I first heard it.
Saw Alfred McCoy Tyner on recent “chasing the Trane” documentary. Jimmy, Elvin and McCoy must have had the time of their lives. McCoy still looked magnificent. Legends.
10:09 ELVIN!!!!! Then 13:08....WTF is THAT?!!!! This is music from another dimension.
Lightning, thunder, and quake shock waves!
Eric O'Brien - It’s possibly the first full Stereo Drum Spread... the Stereo Drums is only for the solo and the transition out of the solo... You can hear them gradually pulling out the other instruments gradually and Elvin starts the solo with limited drumming... Then the drums spread throughout the Stereo field/sound stage... Sounds like they switched around the channels gradually going in out of the solo as it goes back to Mono Drums for the rest of the track... Recorded live to two track tape so the original Multitrack tape is also the mixed down master... I think this was recorded at the producer’s house in New Jersey. Something like that...
yesh indeed! Huge and expansive piece of music
Expansive... how about explosive!
Listen to the saxophone harmonics at 2:47. What a pity Coltrane didn't make more records with big bands. His talent was phenomenal and needed a large ensemble to contain it.
I've following Coltrane since the sixties, one of the most powerful attractions for me was his uniqueness and tonal quality! But his sense of rythm makes it all work He created a
whole new musical conversation
Eric Dolphy wrote such a great arrangement for Trane. Man! What id give to be born 40 years earlier and hang with those cats. Ahhhhhhh
pity? i disagree. john coltrane blessed us with his magic PERIOD. no reason to said "what a pity" blah blah blah
McCoy Tyner solo is so good !
Got here while reading Kesey... Great stuff.
+Ben O'Leary My man!!
I happened to have read a book about the African slave trade not long before I first heard this. In the intro I saw future slaves captured and gathered at the shore as the slave ship that would take them away from everything they knew first appeared on the horizon. I feel their utter sense if chaos and horror in this song.
When I knew John was special.
I think that this was Coltrane’s best solo up to this point in his career. He’d never played this way before, with such aggression, edginess and fire. The modal structure of the song, I think, is what led him to blow so freely. Thoughts anyone?
Yes, its right around that time. Late 61 was when he began playing in this way. If one had bootlegs of him from late 60 to late 61 it would be most definitive.
What modes are you hearing?
@@davidwhite2949 It was the sheer harmonic breadth of the solo that suggested modality to me. I don’t have the musical knowledge that would enable me to identify or discern the specific mode(-s) being played, as to whether it’s Lydian, Dorian, Phrygian, etc. However, I did know one of the musicians who played on the “Africa Brass” sessions, the late French horn player Robert Northern. He played with many other notable jazz musicians including Monk, Miles, Sun Ra, Don Cherry and John Lewis. He also taught music at Brown University and Dartmouth College. For many years Northern, known as Brother Ah, was a jazz broadcaster at radio station WPFW in Washington, DC. I also host a jazz program at that station. He told me that the compositional framework of the song ‘Africa’ was indeed modal, and cited that as the contributing factor for the broad tonality of which Trane’s amazing solo was constructed. I wish that I had asked for him to identify the specific modal arrangement or structure of the song. I’m sure that there are people who can.
To say it was his best is pointed, but I understand! Personally I think he was changing! He did that often. His sense of time and space musically was changing the conversation!
Personally, I think his best solo was on "All Blues", but I'm biased 😊
from the age of 15 to now(83)" this is the music of my heart. I saw Trane pplay chain the Trane at the showboat
HEALING !
Great, just great
Personally one the top 5 cuts of all time in any catergory.
@@alainclement9244 Yes,as the band moves and they start to cook grooving hard all captured on a timeless recording .
I love jazz thanks
timeless masterpiece that inspired byrds' eight miles high
Finger popping, toe tapping,head bobbing music 🎶....'hey man don't lay that jive all on me ....I'll catch cha on the flip flop!
Fantastic piece of work!
No punches pulled here. He tells it how it is.
When I listen to real jazz it takes my mind and spirit to a oneness with self and God my creator. There is no music on the planet that comes to it. Trane , Miles, Lee, Monk, Shorter, Hancock,Blakely ,Sliver , and so many others. But trane he was in a demention unknown to jazz other than Sun Ra . Brilliant,Soul and Holy Spirit.
dimension
Totally magic jazz music !!!!!!
RIP Mc Coy Tyner.
Magnificent
The creator has a master plan(1love)
Oh my god I love the part where it sounds like children is warming up in a school band and Coltrane....panic and took back over..!!!....the coolest sounds one can imagine!
Bob Weir turned me onto this!
Listen to 'Trane's album,"Meditations",on the 1st track,there's a dual drum/bass solo...,I've played this to people & asked them to identify the musicians.Invariably they'd answer, "while its Phil w/Bill & Mickey",unbeknownst it was really the
legendary rhythm section of Jimmy Garrison,Elvin Jones,& Rashid Ali!
Thanks for the tip, man! I'll be sure to check it out :) Might even play it on my radio show and give you a shoutout...It's crazy how such similar sounding music can be created over years, nations and ethnicities, sometimes unbeknownst to the respective others. Deep
I SEE AFRICA.
My favourite things is the true Africa Jazz song!
Otherworldly!
My angry black man song 👊🏾👊🏾
Steve Reich brought me here.
So powerful.
Dopeness!!
John Coltrane: the Master of Surprise. With the pianist from Atlantis, McCoy Tyner (6:52), sounding like Bud Powell and a santoor; the hard-boppin' horn of Freddie Hubbard; and Eric Dolphy's cosmic rows; Elvin Jones on drums. Amazing jam session.
it's not really a "jam session"..it's arranged and orchestrated..there is a massive difference
Call it an organized jam session---it has all the flavor of one.
@@porterhall27 Nah...The only orchestrations are some backing parts. It is mostly long solos over a pedal tone so "jam session" is pretty spot on
Africa free People free ritims free
love it!!
Inno all'Africa !
Very nice...of course!
This contains one of the first if not the very first full Stereo drum spreads on any record in any genre. The drums begin in Mono, panned to the right. The beginning of the drum solo is in Mono but it segues into a full Stereo spread although the drum mix is somewhat right channel dominant for much of the solo. Then when the Bass returns the drums are still full Stereo but then the drums go back to being right channel Panned for the remainder of the track. It’s likely that the Bass and drums where sharing the same input and thus the same location in the Stereo Picture/Soundstage. This was recorded on two track live in the producer’s Home if I’m not mistaken so the inputs for the drum mics and the other instruments would have had to have been changed out on the fly and the back again.
The Bass exits last prior to the solo and is the first to return... Not sure the drums and bass are on the same exact “line” though...
Ancient_Archive_Of_Sound - Yes I’m assuming a minimum of mics on the drums. They only used a few mics on a lot of the Rock Stereo spreads in the late 60s to early 70s. Pictures of Bonham in the late 60s show two mics spread out up top and maybe one on the Bass Drum.
Thanks for the explanation.. It helps to explain some things. The open mic for Coltrane with the drums spilling over.
I had read that the studio was in the home. I may have imagined the living room.
Again, thanks... When I take my right headphone off and listen to the left (with the full Quartet) I do hear some drums and other instruments faintly.
Obviously there is going to be lots of bleeding with live tracking in a home studio.
Are you saying it was something of an accident that there is Stereo imaging on the drum solo caused by mic bleed? I’m willing to accept that with the lopsided nature of the spread. I don’t want to put words into your mouth.
The next thing I can find that’s a full spread (maybe this track is kind of like a 1 and a 1/2 spread by accident?) is The Pentangle (May 1968) on a few songs/drum solos... Pentangle sounds more intentional. And then Wheels Of Fire by Cream (August 68) is full blown full Stereo drums on both the studio and live discs. Then there was something of an avalanche of full spreads on drums in 69’ going forward.
When I first stumbled onto this the headphones I was using had a narrower soundstage so the drums on the Africa solo sounded wider, if that makes any sense. On these cans I have now it sounds so much more “right channel”.
Ancient_Archive_Of_Sound - Yes, basically your multitrack (2 in this case) tapes and your master tapes are one and the same like the live “Betty Reels” recorded direct to 2 track tape for the Grateful Dead.
Frank Black recorded some stuff like that as well. Can’t go in and remix it...
Ancient_Archive_Of_Sound 👍
Ancient_Archive_Of_Sound - I think this was released in Mono as well. I’m guessing they “folded it down” onto one track tape.
In some ways it was a better way to record. You might have them record several versions of some things and you might have to have more rehearsals to get everyone on the same page. But I think you get a more inspired and less mechanical performance.
Ancient_Archive_Of_Sound - Thanks again. I’m listening to this in closed back monitor headphones instead of my Grado Labs phones and it sounds more intentional but I think you are correct that it wasn’t intentional. If the cymbals were closer to the Saxophone mic that’s where some of that effect is coming in... On the Grados things that are far left or right tend to not be as loud especially if they are “leaking” sounds. On the closed back cans everything is closer to the middle which makes it sound more “together”...
Here Elvin Jones is Africa.
McCoy Tyner fantastic Mean & moody
underrated pianist, I love he
Probably my favorite jazz pianist. And that is saying a lot.
Maravilloso !!!!!
I challenge anyone to show me a song better than this that was made within the last forty years
Visions of Africa,innit.Sound full like mah blunt.
thinkin bout getting this for my walkman :)
the bass at the start is amazing for sampling
Von Dolphy stammten auch die Bläser-Arrangements. Yes Eric wrote the arrangements. With John they created a new music called later Hard Bop.
I bless the rain down in... Wait, wrong one
Sublime!!!
John Coltrane no return!
RIP McCoy Tyner
El Coltrane + purº y rodeado de libertad... !
Wild as Mingus !
Let's dance at last.
free
🖤🖤🖤
Fucking profound
la classe
Train, train, I need say nothing else
Fans of this may like Las Vegas Tango from Individualism of Gil Evans by... Gil Evans. unsurprising rhythmically - Elvin Jones played drums on both tracks.
I think eric dolphy did the arrangments on this?
Peter erskine and Joe zawinul
Eight Miles High.
Its colors of sound remind me of a ...
Jacqueline Pompan yup
Black Jesus .
nope..this is fate..💜🎷🎵🎶☝🏻☝🏼
Where Elvin ties the snare spring