[1] Blues to Elvin (Jones) - 7:52
[2] Blues to Bechet (Coltrane) - 5:46
[3] Blues to You (Coltrane) - 6:30
[4] Mr. Day (Coltrane) - 7:55
[5] Mr. Syms (Coltrane) - 5:22
[6] Mr. Knight (Coltrane) - 7:39
Bonus Track for CD only:
[7] Untitled Original (Coltrane) - 5:25
2004 CD Atlantic SD-1382-2
2004 CD Atlantic CS-1382
2004 CD Rhino 1382
2004 CD Rhino 8122737532
One of THE great jazz quartets of all time: Coltrane (tenor&
soprano), McCoy Tyner (piano), the earth-shaking Elvin Jones (drums)
and Steve Davis (bass, though 'Trane's band would most often feature
Jimmy Garrison and sometimes Reggie Workman), playing a blues-inspired
program of originals. This band had an empathy shared by only the best
bands in jazz: the Brubeck and Miles Davis groups, the Modern Jazz
Quartet--and it shows here, with warmth, confidence, economy and
relaxed interplay. Coltrane
is clearly centre-stage here, his distinctive tone - and soon to become
one of the most influential in jazz & beyond, as this was recorded
in 1960 - weavingthrough a set a of earthy yet thoughtful blues-based
original compositions. The "wail" of early '60s Coltrane was in its
embryonic stage here, but his playing is potent and soulful (without
wearing his heart on his sleeve). A great place to begin with for The
Man's post-bop/post-'50s music for the curious; fans will want it for
the previously unreleased "Untitled Original".
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
session. As for the phrase "plays the blues" in the title, that's not
so much an indicator that the tunes are conventional blues (which they
aren't). It's more indicative of a bluesy sensibility, whether he is
playing muscular saxophone or, on "Blues to Bechet" and "Mr. Syms," the
more unusual-sounding (at the time) soprano sax. Elvin Jones, who
hadn't been in Coltrane's band long, really busts out on the quicker
numbers, such as "Blues to You" and "Mr. Day." The 2000 reissue on
Rhino adds five bonus tracks: two alternates apiece of "Blues to Elvin"
and "Blues to You" (which were originally released on the 1995
Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings box), and
"Untitled Original (Exotica)." This last track first appeared on the
1970 compilation The Coltrane Legacy and, like every other one on this
CD, was recorded on October 24, 1960.
Richie Unterberger - All Music Guide
The recordings here come from the same October 1960 sessions that
produced My Favorite Things, and while the all-blues album is far less
famous, it's an equivalent document of John Coltrane's work in his
earliest recordings of the quartet with drummer Elvin Jones and pianist
McCoy Tyner. The all-blues format emphasizes Coltrane's personal
relationship to the form, both his emotional depth and his capacity for
harmonic extension on essentially modal materials. His soprano on
"Blues to Bechet" is a summoning up of the blues form's original power,
also apparent in the slow and moving "Blues to Elvin." "Blues to You,"
played with just Jones and bassist Steve Davis, is a hot coil of sound,
Coltrane's convoluted lines twisting into new shapes while he and Jones
catch every possible nuance of the beat. "Mr. Knight" would later turn
into "India," but it's already a floating modal figure for his tenor.
This edition includes the alternate takes previously available only in
the box set The Heavyweight Champion.