The John Coltrane Quartet Plays
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'' The John Coltrane Quartet Plays'' (full title ''The John Coltrane Quartet Plays Chim Chim Cheree, Song of Praise, Nature Boy, Brazilia'') is an album by jazz musician
John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
, recorded in February and May 1965, shortly after the release of
A Love Supreme ''A Love Supreme'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. He recorded it in one session on December 9, 1964, at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, leading a quartet featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy ...
.


Background

The February and May 1965 recording sessions bracketed a period during which Coltrane's music continued to evolve at a rapid pace, and document a time of transition. The tracks recorded on February 17 and 18 featured two bass players ( Jimmy Garrison and
Art Davis Arthur David Davis (December 6, 1934 – July 29, 2007) was a double-bassist, known for his work with Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner and Max Roach. Biography Davis was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United Stat ...
), and may be seen as a continuation of experiments begun by Coltrane in 1961 involving multiple basses, often with one playing arco and the other playing pizzicato. In March, Coltrane and his group played at the
Half Note ''Half Note'' is a live album by saxophonist Clifford Jordan which was recorded in 1974 and first released on the SteepleChase label in 1985.
; recordings of some of these performances were released on '' Live at the Half Note: One Down, One Up'', about which one reviewer stated: it "captures Coltrane's music on the cusp of major change, just weeks before embarking on the last phase of his career — during which he expunged from his music every last speck of convention," and "documents the classic quartet near the end of its incredible run... The music reveals the band at its creative peak, reaching heights of focused intensity on every tune, stretching rhythmic and harmonic conventions to the breaking point." On March 28, Coltrane participated in a benefit concert 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 (architec ...
, organized and produced by LeRoi Jones, and also featuring groups led by
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, and Charles Tolliver. The music recorded that day was released on ''
The New Wave in Jazz ''The New Wave in Jazz'' is a live album recorded on March 28, 1965 at the Village Gate in New York City. It features groups led by major avant-garde jazz artists performing at a concert for the benefit of The Black Arts Repertory Theater/School fo ...
'', and served to solidify Coltrane's association with the avant-garde. (Coltrane's performance of "Nature Boy" was also included as a bonus track on the CD reissue of ''The John Coltrane Quartet Plays''.) Given Coltrane's success, recognition, and respect within the jazz community, his appearance on the concert "seemed to validate the most daring music of the time." Coltrane played additional concerts at the Half Note in April and early May (recordings of which were also included on ''Live at the Half Note: One Down, One Up''), before returning to the studio on May 17 to record the remaining tracks on ''The John Coltrane Quartet Plays''. Witnesses to Coltrane's concerts during this time period recalled their reactions in vivid terms. Writer
Dan Morgenstern Dan Morgenstern (born October 24, 1929) is a jazz writer, editor, archivist, and producer. He is the son of the German-language Jewish author Soma Morgenstern. Morgenstern was raised in Vienna and Copenhagen and arrived in the United States in ...
heard Coltrane at one of the Half Note performances, and stated: "The intensity that was generated was absolutely unbelievable... I can still ''feel'' it, and it was unlike any other feeling within the music we call jazz." Saxophonist
Joe McPhee Joe McPhee (born November 3, 1939) is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist born in Miami, Florida, a player of tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, the trumpet, flugelhorn and valve trombone. McPhee grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, and is ...
attended the Village Gate concert, and recalled: "I thought I was going to die from the emotion... I'd never experienced anything like that in my life. I thought I was just going to explode right in the place. The energy level kept building up, and I thought, God almighty, I can't take it."


Reception

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 databas ...
reviewer
Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...
called the album "a perfect introduction for listeners to Coltrane's last period." ''
All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...
'' reviewer Robert Spencer noted that "all through this recording the intensity has been turned up a notch since ''A Love Supreme'', the immediately preceding quartet recording... The music is often arresting and moving, but it certainly does seem as if the calm attainment of ''A Love Supreme'' has somehow been broken." He called the album "great music from a great musician" and "an invaluable record of a man struggling to attain to greater clarity of vision." The authors of ''
The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...
'' wrote: "What problems Coltrane was experiencing or what degree of emotional and creative burn-out he might have felt after ''A Love Supreme'' we don't know. It's clear that, as ever, his mind is searching in new directions... ''Plays'' is a fine record and the interaction of the group, both standard and augmented, is faultless. It is, however, a difficult item to place personally and artistically."


Track listing

All tracks written by John Coltrane except where noted. A brief passage of applause has been crudely spliced onto the end of "Nature Boy (Live)".


Personnel

*
John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...
and
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
saxophone *
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 The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
* Jimmy Garrison
double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
*
Art Davis Arthur David Davis (December 6, 1934 – July 29, 2007) was a double-bassist, known for his work with Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner and Max Roach. Biography Davis was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United Stat ...
– double bass (3, 5, and 6 with Garrison) *
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 A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:John Coltrane Quartet Plays, The 1965 albums John Coltrane albums Impulse! Records albums Albums produced by Bob Thiele Avant-garde jazz albums Post-bop albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio