Modal jazz is jazz that makes use of musical modes, often modulating among them to accompany the chords instead of relying on one tonal center used across the piece. Although precedents exist, modal jazz was crystallized as a theory by composer George Russell in his 1953 book Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization.
Elvin Ray Jones was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era.
Alfred McCoy Tyner was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Grammy award winner. Unlike many of the jazz keyboardists of his generation, Tyner very rarely incorporated electric keyboards or synthesizers into his work. Tyner has been widely imitated, and is one of the most recognizable and influential jazz pianists of all time.
James Emory Garrison was an American jazz double bassist. He is best remembered for his association with John Coltrane from 1961 to 1967.
Michael Leonard Brecker was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of Music in 2004, and was inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame in 2007.
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 Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones.
Impressions is an album of live and studio recordings by jazz musician John Coltrane, released by Impulse! Records in July 1963.
Crescent is a 1964 studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released by Impulse! as A-66. Alongside Coltrane on tenor saxophone, the album features McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones (drums) playing original Coltrane compositions.
Sun Ship is a posthumously released jazz album by tenor saxophonist John Coltrane recorded on August 26, 1965. Along with First Meditations, recorded a week later, it was one of the last recording dates for Coltrane's "Classic Quartet" with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones. The recording occurred shortly after a notable performance by the quartet, with Archie Shepp added as a second tenor player, at the DownBeat Jazz Festival at Soldier Field in Chicago, which was described by Ben Ratliff as "a famous breaking point — a Dylan-at-Newport, or a Rite of Spring," with music that he described as "jagged and vociferous... It aggravated a great part of the crowd, prompting, according to some witnesses, a large exodus."
Meditations is a 1966 album by John Coltrane. The album was considered the "spiritual follow-up to A Love Supreme." It features Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders as soloists, both playing tenor saxophones. This was the last Coltrane recording to feature his classic quartet lineup of himself, bassist Jimmy Garrison, drummer Elvin Jones and pianist McCoy Tyner, as both Jones and Tyner would quit the band by early 1966. Sanders, Ali, Garrison and Coltrane's wife Alice would comprise his next group.
Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall is a live recording by pianist Herbie Hancock, tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker and trumpeter Roy Hargrove. It was recorded on October 25, 2001 in Toronto and was Brecker's eighth and Hancock's forty-fourth album. The band is rounded out by bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade.
First Meditations (for quartet) is an album by John Coltrane recorded on September 2, 1965 and posthumously released in 1977. It is a quartet version of a suite Coltrane would record as Meditations two months later with an expanded group. Along with Sun Ship, recorded a week earlier, First Meditations represents the final recordings of Coltrane's classic quartet featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones.
The Classic Quartet – The Complete Impulse! Recordings is a 1998 box set by jazz musician John Coltrane.
Kulu Sé Mama is an album by jazz musician John Coltrane. Recorded during 1965, it was released in January 1967 as Impulse! A-9106, and was the last album released during Coltrane's lifetime.
Live at the Half Note: One Down, One Up is a 2005 double CD compilation of two previously unreleased 1965 Friday radio broadcasts – March 26 and May 7 – at the Half Note Club in New York City, featuring John Coltrane with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones.
To the Beat of a Different Drum is a double album by jazz musician John Coltrane released posthumously in 1978. It is a compilation of recordings in which Roy Haynes replaced Coltrane's regular drummer Elvin Jones.
Extensions is the eleventh album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on February 9, 1970 but not released until January of 1973. It has performances by Tyner with alto saxophonist Gary Bartz, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Elvin Jones, and features Alice Coltrane playing harp on three of the four tracks.
Trident is a 1975 album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner (1938-2020), his eighth to be released on the Milestone label. It was recorded in February 1975 and features performances by Tyner with bassist Ron Carter and his former John Coltrane bandmate, drummer Elvin Jones (1927–2004). It is available on CD. Unusually, Tyner plays harpsichord and celesta along with piano.
Dear Old Stockholm is a compilation album by jazz musician John Coltrane released by GRP and Impulse! in 1993. The music, which was recorded on April 29, 1963 and May 26, 1965 at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, features Coltrane's quartet with Roy Haynes substituting for Elvin Jones on drums.
