''The New Wave in Jazz'' is a live album recorded on March 28, 1965 at the

Village Gate The Village Gate was a nightclub at the corner of Thompson and Bleecker Streets in Greenwich Village, New York. Art D'Lugoff opened the club in 1958, on the ground floor and basement of 160 Bleecker Street. The large 1896 Chicago School structu ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It features groups led by major

avant-garde jazz Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz and experimental jazz) is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through to the late 1960s. Ori ...

artists performing at a concert for the benefit of The Black Arts Repertory Theater/School founded by Amiri Baraka, then known as LeRoi Jones. The album was released on LP in 1965 on the

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

label, and was reissued on CD in 1994 with a different track listing.

Background

On February 22, 1965, the day after the assassination of

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...

, Baraka held a press conference at which he announced plans to establish the Black Arts Repertory Theater/School (BARTS) in Harlem. According to Baraka, BARTS, which opened later that spring in a brownstone at 109 West 130th Street, would offer schooling in "acting, writing, directing, set designing, production, ndmanagement." Baraka booked a March 28 concert under the name "New Black Music" for the benefit of BARTS, and also arranged for it to be recorded. A poster for the concert advertised $5 tickets and listed the participants as

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

, Cecil Taylor,

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

, Betty Carter, Grachan Moncur,

Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...

, the

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

Myth-Science Arkestra, and Charles Tolliver. Baraka recalled: He added: Years later, Baraka noted that the concert and recording occurred at a time "when I had literally fled Greenwich Village for Harlem. So the album... marked the end of one epoch and the beginning of another." He also voiced a complaint: "After Thiele's death, Impulse added music that they hadn't released with this first date, removed my liner notes, obscured the album so they didn't have to pay me a producer's royalty." (The original LP release contained tracks by Coltrane, Ayler, Moncur, Shepp, and Tolliver, with one track per artist. The CD reissue omitted the Ayler track and added extra tracks by Tolliver and Moncur.)

Reception

Not surprisingly, initial critical reaction was mixed. In January, 1966, '' DownBeat'' published an article titled "Two Views of the New Wave," consisting of a negative, two-star review by Gilbert M. Erskine followed by a glowing, five-star review by Bill Mathieu. While Erskine referred to Ayler's music as "a bizarre artifact," and described Coltrane's band as "skitter ngin chaos... with no collective point of reference," Mathieu wrote: "There is no moment on this record when the spirit falters," and depicted the album as "completely true... a set of definitive performances... Highly recommended." Recent writers have maintained a more balanced perspective, commenting that the concert "brought together diverse voices from the experimental fringes of the jazz community, many of whom were entrenched in improvisatory methodologies that challenged traditional assumptions about jazz," while noting that the recording "served as a five-track sampler of some of the most adventurous jazz of the day." Given Coltrane's success, recognition, and respect within the jazz community,

Lewis Porter Lewis Robert Porter (born May 14, 1951) is an American jazz pianist, composer, author, and educator. Education and career Porter was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but raised primarily in the Bronx in New York City. Porter decided at age 10 that ...

stated that his appearance in the concert "seemed to validate the most daring music of the time." The editors of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

awarded the album 4 stars, with Ron Wynn calling the performances "intriguing," and Scott Yanow writing: "There is plenty of fire on the release... Some of the performances are free and ferocious while other tracks are on the advanced side of bop. Over 30 years later the music still sounds adventurous and full of life." Chris May described ''The New Wave in Jazz'' as "gotta-have-it", and stated that the concert lineup was "New Thing royalty." He wrote: "The gang is pretty much all here and it sounds like it was a magic evening."

Richard Brody Richard Brody (born 1958) is an American film critic who has written for ''The New Yorker'' since 1999. Education Brody grew up in Roslyn, New York, and attended Princeton University, receiving a B.A. in comparative literature in 1980. He firs ...

included the Coltrane track in a playlist containing highlights from the saxophonist's live performances, noting that the album was one of the first Coltrane recordings he owned, and remarking: "fasten your seat belts."

Track listings

LP release (
Impulse! Records Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...
A-90, AS-90)

;Side one # "

Nature Boy "Nature Boy" is a song first recorded by American jazz singer Nat King Cole. It was released on March 29, 1948, as a single by Capitol Records, and later appeared on the album, ''The Nat King Cole Story''. It was written by eden ahbez as a tri ...

" - 8:48 -

(tenor saxophone) with

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...

(piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), and

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...

(drums); written by

eden ahbez George Alexander Aberle (April 15, 1908 – March 4, 1995), known as eden ahbez, was an American songwriter and recording artist of the 1940s to 1960s, whose lifestyle in California was influential in the hippie movement. He was known to frien ...

# "Holy Ghost" - 7:21 -

(tenor saxophone) with

Donald Ayler Donald Ayler (October 5, 1942 – October 21, 2007) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was best known for his participation in concerts and recordings by groups led by his older brother, saxophonist Albert Ayler. An obituary in The Wire praised his ...

(trumpet), Joel Freedman (cello), Lewis Worrell (bass), and Sonny Murray (drums); written by Albert Ayler # "Blue Free" - 6:43 -

Grachan Moncur III Grachan Moncur III (June 3, 1937 – June 3, 2022) was an American jazz trombonist. He was the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper. Biography Born in New York City, United States, (his paternal gran ...

(trombone) with Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), Cecil McBee (bass), and Bill Harris (drums); written by Grachan Moncur III ;Side one # "Hambone" - 11:41 -

(tenor saxophone) with

Marion Brown Marion Brown (September 8, 1931 – October 18, 2010) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongsi ...

(alto saxophone), Fred Pirtle (baritone saxophone), Virgil Jones (trumpet), Ashley Fennell (trombone), Reggie Johnson (bass), and

Roger Blank Roger Blank (born December 19, 1938, New York City) is an American jazz drummer. Blank's grandfather played saxophone and his father William Blank was a trumpeter who had performed with Cootie Williams. Blank worked with Hank Mobley in Harlem f ...

(drums); written by Archie Shepp # "Brilliant Corners" - 9:45 - Charles Tolliver (trumpet),

James Spaulding James Ralph Spaulding Jr. (born July 30, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, United states, Spaulding attended the Chicago Cosmopolitan School of Music. Between 1957 and 1961, he was a member of Sun ...

(alto saxophone), Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), Cecil McBee (bass), and

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, ...

(drums); written by

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

CD reissue (
Impulse! Records Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...
GRD-137)

# "

" - 7:58 -

(tenor saxophone) with

(piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), and

(drums); written by

# "Hambone" - 11:48 -

(tenor saxophone) with

(alto saxophone), Fred Pirtle (baritone saxophone), Virgil Jones (trumpet), Ashley Fennell (trombone), Reggie Johnson (bass), and

(drums); written by Archie Shepp # "Brilliant Corners" - 9:50 - Charles Tolliver (trumpet),

(alto saxophone), Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), Cecil McBee (bass), and

(drums); written by

# "Plight" - 13:06 - Charles Tolliver (trumpet),

(alto saxophone), Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), Cecil McBee (bass), and

(drums); written by Charles Tolliver # "Blue Free" - 6:48 -

(trombone) with Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), Cecil McBee (bass), and Bill Harris (drums); written by Grachan Moncur III # "The Intellect" - 24:04 -

(trombone) with Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), Cecil McBee (bass), and Bill Harris (drums); written by Grachan Moncur III

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Wave in Jazz, The 1965 live albums Live jazz albums Impulse! Records live albums Albums recorded at the Village Gate Collaborative albums

Background

Reception

Track listings

LP release (Impulse! Records Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ... A-90, AS-90)

CD reissue (Impulse! Records Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ... GRD-137)

References

LP release (
Impulse! Records Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...
A-90, AS-90)

CD reissue (
Impulse! Records Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...
GRD-137)