Traneing In

 

Chasing the Trane today, with the obscure Descendants Of Mike & Phoebe, with the great tenor player Clifford Laconia Jordan and, last but certainly not least, with his talented widow Alice.

The Descendants Of Mike And Phoebe - Coltrane
Clifford Jordan Quartet - John Coltrane
Alice Coltrane - Something About John Coltrane

New Suite

If current American jazz tickles your fancy, Jeff Parker is one of the guys to watch. Both on The New Breed from a couple of years back and on the recent Suite For Max Brown, the guitarist (who is also known for his work with postrockers Tortoise) embraces the new without forgetting the old. Often abstract and trippy, always interesting.

Jeff Parker - After The Rain
Jeff Parker - Jrifted

Really Real

Just got the sad news that McCoy Tyner has passed away at 81. Alongside Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones, the legendary jazz pianist was a prominent member of John Coltrane's famous quartet, and contributed to classic albums as My Favourite Things and A Love Supreme. His solo records, of which I can recommend The Real McCoy ('67) in particular, are well worth seeking out, too. Miss him.

McCoy Tyner - Passion Dance
John Coltrane - My Favourite Things

United

Waving goodbye to 2019 with a swinging six pack of fine jazz tracks I've been grooving to of late. Just dig in and dig.

Archie Shepp - Naima
Ahmed Abdul-Malik - Summertime
Kenny Drew - Weird-O
Sonny Clark - Blues Blue
Charles Mingus - Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting
Larry Young - The Moontrane

Still Feeling Blue

Hot on the heels of last year's wonderful Both Directions At Once comes another lost piece of the Trane puzzle. As this more or less forgotten soundtrack session from 1964 contains mostly alternate takes of familiar tunes, Blue World may not be as amazing a find, but fine takes they are, so who's complaining?

John Coltrane - Blue World

Blood & Wealth

The famous FTSOTS end of year list will be with you shortly, but let's get the old stuff out of the way first. Here are the reissues and compilations of the year, in all their raging glory. Out of a ton of goodies, and with exclusive fine art by Tinca, I picked the following.

1. John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album
2. Bob Dylan - More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Vol. 14
3. Neil Young - Roxy: Tonight's The Night Live
4. Thelonious Monk - Mønk (Live In Copenhagen '63)
5. Van Morrison - Live In Boston '72
6. Grateful Dead - Pacific Northwest '73-'74: Believe It If You Need It
7. v/a - Basement Beehive: The Girl Group Underground
8. The Louvin Brothers - Love And Wealth: The Lost Recordings
9. Songs: Ohia - Love & Work: The Lioness Sessions
10. v/a - Black Man's Pride 2: Righteous Are The Sons And Daughters Of Jah

John Coltrane - Untitled Original 11386 (Take 1)

Let's Get Lost

Just imagine discovering a reel with an album load full of unreleased tracks by Trane somewhere up in your dusty attic... Both Directions At Once, recorded in 1963 with McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, and Jimmy Garrison as trusted sidekicks, is the find of the year for sure.

John Coltrane - Untitled Original 11383 (Take 1)

Family Affair

All dig this wonderful track from a legendary late sixties South African jazz masterpiece. Winston ‘Mankunku’ Ngozi was the man alright.

Mankunku Quartet - Dedication (To Daddy Trane And Brother Shorter)

Soul Trane

And of course, there's always the genius of John Coltrane. Every once in a while one needs to be reminded of that, my amigos da musica. So here we go again, with a trio of fine fine early tracks.

Wilbur Harden & John Coltrane - Tanganyika Strut
John Coltrane - Minor Mishap
Tadd Dameron & John Coltrane - Mating Call

Dig It

The more or less forgotten altist Byard Lancaster honours Trane. In the process, he digs way deep.

Byard Lancaster - John's Children

Hare Om

This just in from the reissue front: The Ecstatic Music Of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda, a compilation on the Luaka Bop imprint which focuses on the time Trane's widow - a fine jazz musician in her own right by the way - was part of a California ashram. More raga-flavoured than jazzy, her ecstatic music is probably an acquired taste for most listeners.

Alice Coltrane - Om Shanti

All That Jazz

Just got the sad news that Rudy Van Gelder passed away last week. The brilliant recording engineer was 91. RvG helped shape a ton of legendary jazz albums for illustrious labels as Blue Note, Prestige, and Impulse. Here's a swinging six pack in his honour. Miss him.

Miles Davis - If I Were A Bell
John Coltrane - Witches Pit
Kenny Drew - Groovin' The Blues
Dexter Gordon - I Was Doing All Right
Eric Dolphy - Something Sweet, Something Tender
Sonny Clark - Eric Walks

Mister Mister Pt. Three

Still owe you part three, the last installment, so here goes. It's six pack time again, my esteemed amigos da musica, so better stock up for the wintertime...

Tom Waits - Mr. Henry

The Lollipop Shoppe - Mr. Madison Avenue
The Other Half - Mr. Pharmacist

Mr. Fox - Mr. Fox

Gregory Isaacs - Mr. Cop

John Coltrane - Mr. Day

Put Them In A Bottle

"Send them out to sea..." A ten pack for dream weavers only.

Nico - Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
Witch - Strange Dream
Green On Red - That's What Dreams Are Made For
Pauline Murray & The Invisible Girls - Dream Sequence 1

Arab Strap - Dream Sequence

Suicide - Dream Baby Dream

Cornershop - England's Dreaming
Bunny Wailer - Dream Land
Robin Luke - You Can't Stop me From Dreaming
Cannonball Adderley & John Coltrane - You're A Weaver Of Dreams

Give Thanks

Wanna drool? Then check out the quite unbelievable line-up of 1957's Thanksgiving Concert in New York's famous Carnegie Hall. At this fundraiser for the Morningside Community Center in Harlem, the Thelonious Monk Quartet featuring John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Chet Baker with the Zoot Sims Quartet, and Sonny Rollins all appeared. The most expensive tickets were priced $3,95. Those were the days, huh? Monk & Trane sure were in fine form that night by the way. Here's proof.

Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane - Evidence

Look See

"Plain as your eyes can see, read what the sign says..." So stop, look, and listen, mi amigos da musica.

Jim Sullivan - Plain As Your Eyes Can See

Plush - Three-quarters Blind Eyes
Ed Askew - Little Eyes
Thelonious Monk - There's Danger In Your Eyes, Cherie (take 2)
Warne Marsh - Smog Eyes
John Coltrane - The Night Has A Thousand Eyes

Hot Boys

Four saxes, one vision. Always loved Tenor Conclave, a hot blowing session recorded in 1956 and featuring messrs. Mobley, Cohn, Coltrane, and Sims in great form. The Bob in the title refers to Bob Weinstock btw, founder of the famous jazz label Prestige. While you dig, I'm off for a few days on a hopefully sunny rest & recuperation trip. See ya sometime next week.

Hank Mobley, Al Cohn, John Coltrane, Zoot Sims - Bob's Boys

Colour Me Brown

Why fake it indeed. One more coloured, hand picked six pack to go. This time around, Frank Zappa & his Mothers perform a mini opera of sorts, Buffalo Tom pledge their love to a girl wearing stupid clothes, while Bob Dylan watches The Gunfighter, starring Gregory Peck. Further on, Trane teams up with the Duke, Bo Weavil Jackson shows how to play a mean blues, and the much recommended Dieselhed are simply all over the place in their brown station wagon. If anything catches your fancy, please support the artists by buying their albums. Deal?

The Mothers Of Invention - Brown Shoes Don´t Make It MP3

Buffalo Tom - Sally Brown MP3

Bob Dylan - Brownsville Girl MP3

Duke Ellington & John Coltrane - My Little Brown Book MP3

Bo Weavil Jackson - Devil And My Brown Blues MP3

Dieselhed - Brown Dragon MP3

Wild Weekend Vol. 32

Lo and behold, the iPod shuffle has chosen once more. In this again rather diverse edition of Wild Weekend we pay visits to Alabama, Düsseldorf and Whiskey Boot Hill, and see how three charming English ladies get their groceries. And that´s not all, folks.

"Do a runner! Do a runner!" Or: my fave all-girl combo the Slits goes shopping the proletarian way, with a great postpunk reggae riddim on the side. "Babylon won´t lose much, and we´ll have dinner tonight". Meanwhile back in ´68, former Byrd Gene Clark teams up with banjoist supreme Doug Dillard. A good move that, as their fantastic expedition into the realm of countryrock, with distinctive bluegrass overtones, still sounds remarkably fresh today. Cue The Radio Song, which you´ll never ever hear on the radio.

The Slits - Shoplifting MP3

Dillard & Clark - The Radio Song MP3

"No pass out sign on the door set me thinking, are waitresses paying the price of their winking?" That´s Neil of course, with an acoustic take on his Whiskey Boot Hill, recorded live at the Riverboat in Toronto back in ´69. Simply gorgeous. Which can also be said of Cannonball Adderley, who calls on the one and only John Coltrane to deliver a definitive take on the old standard Stars Fell On Alabama. From Cannonball & Coltrane (´59), an album all jazz lovers should own.

Neil Young - Whiskey Boot Hill (live ´69) MP3

Cannonball Adderley - Stars Fell On Alabama MP3

The voice of Killdozer head honcho Michael Gerard is really something to behold. Rough isn´t the word for it. Here he tells an interesting trucker´s tale. An Albini production, but you probably guessed that already. And we´ve reached the end of this Wild Weekend with a hypnotic krautrock ode to the apparently fair city of Düsseldorf by Thomas ´Neu!´ Dinger und freunde. Sometimes a whisper is all you need. Vorsicht!

Killdozer - The Buzzard MP3

La Düsseldorf - Düsseldorf MP3

Cat Power

Our dear cat has had a rough time of it lately. Ole fatso always was the undisputed king of the neighbourhood, but recently he lost a fight and had deep wounds to show for it. Thanks to the vet, who shot him up with multivitamins and even antibiotics, all is well again however.

In tribute, here´s a phenomenal feline six pack. Featuring the Kinks at their typically British best, and a swampy contribution from good old Little Feat. "Livin' in strange dreams, taking prescribed medication..." There´s some sharp jazz by the tenor tandem of John Coltrane and Paul Quinichette, while New York noisemakers the Godz are clearly in heat. Meow! And last but not least, we´ve got a nursery tale of sorts by his Bobness, plus some gorgeous New Zealand pop by Look Blue Go Purple. "And our love will never end..."

The Kinks - Phenomenal Cat MP3

Little Feat - Cat Fever MP3

John Coltrane & Paul Quinichette - Cattin´ MP3

The Godz - White Cat Heat MP3

Bob Dylan - Cat´s In The Well MP3

Look Blue Go Purple - Cactus Cat MP3