Coltrane Plays the Blues
Artist: John Coltrane
Community Score: 8.33

Coltrane's sessions for Atlantic in late October 1960 were prolific, yielding the material for My Favorite Things, Coltrane Plays the Blues, and Coltrane's Sound. My Favorite Things was destined to be the most remembered and influential of these, and while Coltrane Plays the Blues is not as renowned or daring in material, it is still a powerful... Read More

Monterey Jazz Festival '63
Artist: Thelonious Monk

This double-CD contains pianist/composer Thelonious Monk's two sets at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival, music that was unreleased until 1994. Monk, tenor-saxophonist Charlie Rouse, bassist John Ore, and drummer Frank Dunlop perform lengthy versions of two standards: "I'm Getting Sentimental over You" and a nearly 19-minute "Sweet and Lovely,"... Read More

The Centaur and the Phoenix
Artist: Yusef Lateef

From his first explosion of recordings in the mid-'50s, Yusuf Lateef was a player who was always gently stretching the boundaries of his music to absorb techniques, new rhythms, and new influences from Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The Centaur and The Phoenix, however, takes the risk-taking and innovation that Lateef was known for, and... Read More

Afro Blue Impressions
Artist: John Coltrane

Taken from several European concerts (producer Norman Granz is vague about the exact dates but those listed are educated guesses), this double CD finds John Coltrane and his classic Quartet playing their standard repertoire of the period. The nine songs include "Chasin' the Trane," "My Favorite Things," "Afro Blue," "I Want to Talk About You,"... Read More

Bill Holman's Great Big Band
Artist: Bill Holman & His Orchestra

This lesser-known effort from arranger Bill Holman, who is also heard on tenor, was his last recording as a big-band leader for some time. The brevity of the performances (none of the 11 songs are over 4˝ minutes long, and several are under three minutes) is a bit disappointing, cutting down on the solo space, but the versions of such unusual... Read More

Illumination!
Artist: Elvin Jones

Until it was reissued in 1998, this was one of the more elusive Impulse sets of the 1960s. Recorded in 1963 and co-led by John Coltrane's drummer and bassist (Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison), the music is most significant for introducing Sonny Simmons (alto and English horn) and Prince Lasha (flute and clarinet), who are joined in the sextet by... Read More

Groovin' High
Artist: Booker Ervin

This CD reissue has four selections from the same sessions (but not released on the original sets) that resulted in The Freedom Book, The Blues Book and The Space Book. "Groovin' High" features the intense tenor of Booker Ervin playing comparatively lighthearted bebop in a quintet with trumpeter Carmell Jones, pianist Gildo Mahones, bassist... Read More

Back from the Gig
Artist: Booker Ervin

This two-LP set consists of a pair of classic Blue Note sets that were not originally released until 1976. The great tenor Booker Ervin (whose hard passionate sound was always immediately recognizable) is well-showcased with the Horace Parlan Sextet in 1963 (a group also featuring pianist Parlan, trumpeter Johnny Coles and guitarist Grant Green)... Read More

Olé Coltrane - BONUS TRACK
Artist: John Coltrane
Community Score: 6.17

The complicated rhythm patterns and diverse sonic textures on Olé are evidence that John Coltrane was once again charting his own course. His sheer ability as a maverick -- over and beyond his appreciable musical skills -- guides works such as this to new levels, ultimately advancing the entire art form. Historically, it's worth noting that... Read More

My Favorite Things
Artist: John Coltrane
Community Score: 7.70

Although seemingly impossible to comprehend, this landmark jazz recording was made in less than three days. All the more remarkable is that the same sessions which yielded My Favorite Things would also inform a majority of the albums Coltrane Plays the Blues, Coltrane's Sound, and Coltrane Legacy. It is easy to understand the appeal that these... Read More

Coltrane's Sound
Artist: John Coltrane
Community Score: 4.25

This is one of the most highly underrated entries in Coltrane's voluminous catalog. Although the same overwhelming attention bestowed upon My Favorite Things was not given to Coltrane's Sound upon its initial release, both were actually recorded during the same three-day period in the fall of 1960. So prolific were those recording dates, they... Read More

How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying/Gloomy Sunday and Other Bright Moments
Artist: Gary McFarland

Two unrelated big-band albums (which have overlapping personnel) from the same time period are combined on this single-CD: Gary McFarland's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Bob Brookmeyer's Gloomy Sunday and Other Bright Moments. McFarland's eight arrangements of tunes from the show of the same name is better than expected.... Read More