JOHN COLTRANE - My Favorite Things

Just a year earlier, in 1959, John Coltrane recorded “Giant Steps,” for this writer the point of no return for hard bop, while the following year would bring “Africa/Brass,” another cornerstone of Coltrane's discography. Meanwhile, in October 1960, something important happened. For the first time — up to that point, since starting out as a leader, Coltrane had almost always changed the musicians around him — the hard core of what would become a historic group, one that would accompany him for a long time across numerous albums, formed around the saxophonist: McCoy Tyner on piano and Elvin Jones on drums. The bassist, Steve Davis, would soon be replaced by Jimmy Garrison, the only one who would remain at Trane's side practically until the end of his career, but that's another story.
From the quartet's October '60 sessions came no fewer than three albums: “Coltrane Plays the Blues,” “Coltrane's Sound,” and “My Favorite Things.” But it's on this last one that the combo performs at its best, leaving an indelible mark on the history of jazz. First of all, the novelty of finding our man, for the first time, tackling the alto sax on two of the album's four tracks is a pleasant surprise, all the more so since, undeniably, it's not so much the instrument itself but the way it's used that touches the listener's sensibility.

Starting with the title track (written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, it would become a classic, a fixture of the saxophonist's concerts until the end of his career), a piece in 6/8, a rather unusual time signature for the more conventional jazz of the era, we find ourselves faced with something different from the hard bop played up to that point. The saxophonist is still far from free jazz, but perhaps the seed that would lead him to develop his sensibility in that direction can be found in certain passages on this album, especially in the long improvisations, at times lightly inspired by Eastern music, with sonorities that are thus different, new compared to those typical of '50s sound. It's also undeniable, in this regard, the influence Coltrane drew from having taken part, just the previous year, in the recording of the manifesto of modal jazz, the celebrated “Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis. But My Favorite Things cannot be considered a mere rehash of the modal jazz of “Kind of Blue,” as evidenced by the fact that, despite this shared and revolutionary starting point, Davis and Coltrane would go on to take two very different paths through the '60s. Trane's vision of modal jazz is certainly oriented toward a more mystical, spiritual conception of music, one that would soon lead him to embrace free jazz, the only jazz style never embraced — indeed, openly opposed — by Davis.
It's also worth pointing out that Coltrane's jazz style has the peculiarity of being “polycentric,” that is, offering the musicians who play with him extreme expressive freedom. And so, how can we fail to highlight the contribution made to the record by McCoy Tyner who, starting precisely with this recording, gave birth to a highly personal pianistic style, one that pushes the modal approach to its extreme while also offering a pronounced use of the instrument's percussive qualities. Not to mention the excellent work done by the dazzling Elvin Jones, one of the best drummers of all time.
On “Everytime We Say Goodbye,” a delicate ballad written by Cole Porter, Coltrane is once again on alto sax, and fortunately for us, the substance of the discourse doesn't change.
When the tenor sax returns to his lips, on the celebrated Gershwin tune “Summertime,” the piece, in Trane's vision, is no longer a ballad as it originally was, but takes on the contours of a fierce hard bop number that, while staying in line with the album's stylistic traits, strongly recalls the mood of the aforementioned “Giant Steps.”

Nothing more of note can be added regarding the album's final track, “But Not for Me,” another Gershwin tune, except that, carrying on the stylistic leitmotif of the other songs with the same class and effectiveness, it completes the work in question, which remains, for its innovation and beauty, undoubtedly one of the cornerstones not only of John Coltrane's discography, but of jazz as a whole.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

21/09/2005