The O-town Scene

February 24, 2011

The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY

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Vinyl Vault The John Coltrane Quartet ‘Africa/Brass’ Impulse! Records, 1961 Each glossy black, white and orange record cover boldly proclaims, “the new wave of jazz is on Im- pulse!,” and of course it was true. The upstart new label scored a ma- jor coup in signing tenor saxophonist John Coltrane, and his first release on the label, 1961’s “Africa/ Brass” is a stunning document, a sign of even greater things to come, establishing Impulse! as the premier modern jazz label of the era, and laying the groundwork for Coltrane’s final and most productive years. The original liner notes for the LP describe Coltrane as “a quiet, powerfully built young man who plays the tenor saxophone quite unlike anyone in all of jazz.” This is an understatement. Everything about Coltrane’s playing on this record is impressive, and not just his arresting “sheets of sound” soloing he had perfected by this time. The mere timbre of his saxophone is so powerful, so distinctive, so foreign compared to his contemporaries, that by “Africa/Brass” it is clear that Coltrane is the heir to the jazz vanguard. “Africa/Brass” is the new wave of jazz, with Coltrane opening up and beginning to move even farther out musically. Recorded with what is known today as his “classic quartet,” Coltrane added a large brass section, something not uncom- mon to the era. Hard- boppers Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins had each released LPs with large brass sections. What sets “Africa/Brass” apart is how differently it is ex- ecuted. More than anyone else of his genera- tion, Coltrane was constantly looking for inspi- ration outside of what he knew. In 1961, he was fascinated by African rhythm, traditional folk music and the nascent free jazz scene in New York. playing is far more improvisational, more free than that of musicians even a few years before. The traditional “Greensleeves” is faithfully played as the opening track on the second side, but opens up into dense improvisation in the second half of the track _ a “pulse and groove” as Coltrane describes it. The final song on the record, “Blues Mi- nor,” is a frenzied blues song with Coltrane’s rapid-fire soloing that is so dense it delivers something new with each listen. Coltrane is communicating pure emotion with each volley of his solos, so much that one can’t help but feel an instant connection with the music. Coltrane’s “Africa/Brass” a portrait of a band completely in sync with one another. The large brass arrangements develop a link with the big band and be-bop generations that precede it, yet the music is executed with many hints at the avant/free-jazz period of the not-too distant future. In the final years of his life, Coltrane would The mere timbre of his saxophone is so powerful, so distinctive, so foreign compared to his contemporaries, that by “Africa/Brass” it is clear that Coltrane is the heir to the jazz vanguard. Enlisting McCoy Tyner, a promising young pianist, and Eric Dolphy, a bass clarinetist who would soon release pioneering work on his own, the three men arranged and shaped what was to become “Africa/Brass” in a mat- ter of days in the spring of 1961. The opening track, “Africa,” has a buried melody under two basses, and dense piano work creates a drone that the song is built over. In talking about “Africa,” Coltrane de- scribed wanting to build a song on “rhythms” instead of a traditional 4/4 beat. It is here that the younger Tyner and Dolphy shine. Their Each week, SUNY Oneonta-based NPR affiliate WUOW features a worthy musician in its Friday Night Featured Artist radio program from 8 to 9 p.m. at 104.7 FM in Oneonta and online at wuow. org. Featured Artist Adele This week’s artist is 22-year-old husky voiced songstress Adele, whose much anticipated second album, “21,” was released this week. In just 3 years, the London native has become a two-time Grammy Award winner, and she creates soulful music that poetically describes her tales of young love and life. Feb. 24, 2011 O-Town Scene 15 increase the size of his band, find spiritual- ity and delve into free improvisation. You can hear the beginnings here, at the crest of Impulse! records’ first new wave. _ James Derek Sapienza

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