Meditations (John Coltrane album)

Last updated
Meditations
ColtraneMeditationsCover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 1966 [1]
RecordedNovember 23, 1965
Studio Van Gelder (Englewood Cliffs)
Genre Free jazz, avant-garde jazz
Length40:31
Label Impulse!
A-9110
Producer Bob Thiele
John Coltrane chronology
New Thing at Newport
(1966)
Meditations
(1966)
Live at the Village Vanguard Again!
(1966)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [5]

Meditations is a 1966 album by John Coltrane. The album was considered the "spiritual follow-up to A Love Supreme ." [6] 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 (augmented here as a sextet with Sanders and second drummer Rashied Ali), 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.

Contents

Alternative versions of tracks 2–5 had been recorded in September 1965 by the same musicians minus Rashied Ali and Sanders. They were later issued as First Meditations (for quartet) in 1977.

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Coltrane.

Side one

  1. "The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost" 12:51
  2. "Compassion" 6:50

Side two

  1. "Love" 8:09
  2. "Consequences" 9:11
  3. "Serenity" 3:28

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Coltrane</span> American jazz saxophonist (1926–1967)

John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elvin Jones</span> American jazz drummer (1927–2004)

Elvin Ray Jones was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Garrison</span> American jazz double bassist (1934-1976)

James Emory Garrison was an American jazz double bassist. He is best remembered for his association with John Coltrane from 1961 to 1967.

<i>Impressions</i> (John Coltrane album) 1963 studio album / live album by John Coltrane

Impressions is an album of live and studio recordings by jazz musician John Coltrane, released by Impulse! Records in July 1963.

<i>Transition</i> (John Coltrane album) 1970 studio album by John Coltrane

Transition is an album of music by jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, recorded in 1965 but released posthumously only in 1970. As its title indicates, Transition was a bridge between classic quartet recordings like A Love Supreme and the more experimental works of Coltrane's last years.

<i>Crescent</i> (John Coltrane album) 1964 studio album by John Coltrane

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.

<i>Sun Ship</i> 1971 studio album by John Coltrane

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."

<i>Live at the Village Vanguard Again!</i> 1966 live album by John Coltrane

Live At The Village Vanguard Again! is a live jazz album by saxophonist John Coltrane. Recorded in May 1966 during a live performance at the Village Vanguard jazz club in New York City, the album features Coltrane playing in the free jazz style that characterized his final years. The lineup features Coltrane's quintet, with Coltrane on tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, and flute, Pharoah Sanders on tenor saxophone and flute, Alice Coltrane on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Rashied Ali on drums, supplemented by Emanuel Rahim on percussion. It was the quintet's only official recording released during Coltrane's lifetime.

<i>Coltrane Jazz</i> 1961 studio album by John Coltrane

Coltrane Jazz is the sixth studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane. It was released in early 1961 on Atlantic Records. Most of the album features Coltrane playing with his former Miles Davis bandmates, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb during two sessions in November and December, 1959. The exception is the track "Village Blues", which was recorded October 21, 1960. "Village Blues" comes from the first recording session featuring Coltrane playing with pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones, who toured and recorded with Coltrane as part of his celebrated "classic quartet" from 1960 to 1965.

<i>First Meditations (for quartet)</i> 1977 studio album by John Coltrane

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.

<i>Infinity</i> (John Coltrane album) 1972 remix album by John Coltrane

Infinity is an album credited to John Coltrane, released on Impulse! Records in 1972. It features overdubs with strings of Coltrane's pieces recorded in 1965 and 1966, at the hands of Alice Coltrane. Her controversial "re-imagining" of her husband's late works was criticised by both fans and critics, as she took his original performances and superimposed them over lush orchestral backgrounds and re-dubbed rhythm section parts, as well as recording new solos on piano, organ, harp and timpani.

<i>The Classic Quartet: The Complete Impulse! Recordings</i> 1998 box set by John Coltrane

The Classic Quartet – The Complete Impulse! Recordings is a 1998 box set by jazz musician John Coltrane with recordings from his classic quartet, including pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones.

<i>The European Tour</i> 1980 live album by John Coltrane

The European Tour is a posthumous album by jazz musician John Coltrane released in 1980 on the Pablo label. The tracks were recorded on October 22, 1963 at the Koncerthuset in Stockholm, Sweden during a two-week European tour which was produced by Norman Granz, and which included concerts in Oslo, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Milan, Kaiserslautern, Frankfurt/Main, Paris, Berlin, Munich, and Stuttgart. Additional tracks from the Stockholm and Berlin concerts appear on Afro Blue Impressions. Tracks from Stockholm, Berlin, Paris, and Stuttgart are featured on the 2001 Pablo compilation Live Trane: The European Tours.

<i>The Paris Concert</i> (John Coltrane album) 1979 live album by John Coltrane

The Paris Concert is a posthumously-released live album by jazz musician John Coltrane. Despite the album title, some sources assert it was recorded at a concert in Berlin on 2 November 1963. Other music from this concert was issued on Afro Blue Impressions. Others claim it was indeed recorded in Paris, on 17 November 1962.

<i>Kulu Sé Mama</i> 1967 studio album by 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.

<i>Selflessness: Featuring My Favorite Things</i> 1969 studio album / Live album by John Coltrane

Selflessness Featuring My Favorite Things is a posthumous album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1969. The album juxtaposes two tracks recorded live at the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival with a single track ("Selflessness") recorded in a studio in Los Angeles in 1965.

<i>Cosmic Music</i> 1968 studio album by John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane

Cosmic Music is a jazz album by John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane released after John Coltrane's death. John Coltrane only plays on two tracks, "Manifestation" and "Reverend King".

<i>McCoy Tyner Plays Ellington</i> 1965 studio album by McCoy Tyner

McCoy Tyner Plays Ellington is the sixth album by American jazz pianist McCoy Tyner. It was recorded in December 1964 and released on the Impulse! label in 1965. It features performances by Tyner with his John Coltrane bandmates: bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. Percussionists Willie Rodriguez and Johnny Pacheco appear on four of the tracks. It would be Tyner's last effort for the label, before signing with Blue Note.

<i>The Mastery of John Coltrane, Vol. 3: Jupiter Variation</i> 1978 compilation album by John Coltrane

The Mastery of John Coltrane, Vol. III: Jupiter Variation is a compilation album by American saxophonist John Coltrane, which features pieces recorded in 1966 and 1967, but not released until 1978 on Impulse! Records as IA 9360. All tracks were previously unreleased, at the time of release. "Number One" may also be found on the CD reissue of Expression, while "Jupiter (Variation)" and "Leo" may be found on the reissue of Interstellar Space. "Peace on Earth", with posthumous overdubbings, can be found on Infinity. The version here is the original.

<i>The Mastery of John Coltrane, Vol. 1: Feelin Good</i> 1978 compilation album by John Coltrane

The Mastery of John Coltrane, Vol. I: Feelin' Good is a compilation album by American saxophonist John Coltrane, the first of a series of four compilations released on Impulse! between 1978 and 1979, all sharing the same cover artwork designed by Stuart Kusher, Richard Germinaro and Vigon Nahas Vigon. It features pieces recorded in 1965, seven in studio and one live. All the tracks were previously unissued in these mixes at the time of release. At present, the availability of said tracks is as follows:

References

  1. "Billboard". 20 August 1966.
  2. AllMusic review
  3. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
  4. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 291. ISBN   978-0-14-103401-0.
  5. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 47. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
  6. Kahn, Ashley (2007). The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records . New York: W. W. Norton & Co. pp.  178-179. ISBN   978-0393330717.