Impulse! Releases Newly-Discovered Coltrane

courtesy of Crossover Media

Among those that seriously collect recordings of jazz performances, particularly the “live” albums, one of the major events of this year (if not the major event) was the release by Impulse! Records of a new John Coltrane album: A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle. The suite A Love Supreme was originally recorded for Impulse! at a studio session on December 9, 1964. This became the major album of the John Coltrane Quartet, whose other members were McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums.

Coltrane then took the entire suite on tour. Until this year, the only document of a tour performance involved a recording made in Antibes over the course of two days: July 26 and 27 of 1965. That recording also includes Coltrane’s “Impressions.” It was released in the United Kingdom by Charly Records and was subsequently released in 2002 by Impulse! as the second CD in a “Deluxe Edition,” whose first CD is the original studio recording.

This past October 22, however, Impulse! released its new album. This one was made after the tour during which the Antibes performance was recorded. However, the date of the performance, which took place at The Penthouse in Seattle, seems to be cited only as “late 1965.” What is particularly important is that the quartet expanded to include two additional saxophonists, Pharoah Sanders and Carlos Ward, and a second drummer, Donald Garrett.

Coltrane had already begun to expand the durations of the suite’s four movements, particularly through his own improvisations, while on tour. By the time of the Seattle recording, only the final movement, “Psalm,” was only slightly expanded. Each of the other three movements, “Acknowledgement,” “Resolution,” and “Pursuance,” is far more generous in its duration. Furthermore, the scope of the entire suite is further extended by four “Interlude” movements, the last two of which are two generous bass improvisations, presumably taken by Garrison and Garrett, respectively. There are also richer contributions from Jones, although those can also be found on the Antibes recording.

Back in the old days when vinyl ruled, I would have said that this new album would be welcomed by all those whose original discs had endured a needle wearing the tracks down to more noise than signal. Fortunately, content does not “wear down” in the digital age! Nevertheless, a document of performing before an audience tends to override one of a studio session. Mind you, I am still very much personally attached to my Antibes recording; but this Seattle release is just as welcome in my listening practices, particularly in providing yet another opportunity to listen to exchanges between Coltrane and Sanders.