new introductory bit here.
This is a reviews page based on my own collection, which just keeps growing despite itself. If it isn't listed here, it's because I don't own it yet, or I haven't gotten around to it yet.
Also, bother your local "new rock" radio station and make sure they are playing "new rock" and not "Rock the Casbah," which is not new.
note: entries in red text indicate my pick for the artist's best available album. A gold numeral indicates the POPocalypse winner of the year's best album; second- and third-place winners are in blue. Green lettering indicates an obviously exploitative record company compilation without apparent artist input.
Giant Steps (1960, **)
This collection was recorded over various dates in 1959. This is immediately noticeable, emotional music. Like a lot of trad jazz of the day, it's never threatening. It invites you in to judge it on its own terms, but if you'd just rather keep it on as background music, that would work beautifully, too. If you want to listen closely for the challenges within, all the better for you. Atlantic's reissue includes five alternate takes from the original seven songs added as bonus tracks.
Coltrane (1962, ***)
Seven incredible tracks recorded by the Coltrane's quartet in early 1962, including a very nice little tribute, I guess, called "Miles' Mood." The original LP was five tracks long; of the new numbers, a jaunty piece called "Big Nick" doesn't really fit in with the mood of the five, but is certainly interesting.
A Love Supreme (1965, ****)
Justifiably called one of jazz's greatest albums, Love was recorded in December 1964 and, in four parts, is a 33-minute praise to God. It's remarkable to hear how unified is the epic, and how every time the Quartet veers away from the expected flow, Jimmy Garrison's four-note bass thump brings them right back in. Recommended for listening in its entirety with an open mind, as the four parts rely on each other so heavily.
Dear Old Stockholm (1978, ***)
This 1978 album features five songs recorded in 1963 and 1965 and, apparently, unreleased until this issue. They're unified by the presence of Roy Haynes on drums; he would occasionally step in when Elvin Jones, Trane's usual drummer, was unavailable. The first two tracks slot in to Trane's bebop period well, and the ten minute take on the title track is probably superior to Miles Davis's 1955 version (which also featured Trane). The later three tracks are considerably more avant garde and, concerning themselves as they do with Coltrane's spirituality, are an interesting bridge between A Love Supreme and First Meditations.
First Meditations (1977, **)
This is about as far into avant garde jazz as I've travelled. Meditations, recorded in September 1965, is very heavy stuff indeed. Unlike A Love Supreme, each track stands up well on its own, which is surprising considering that this was also intended to be one unified epic, but each track is also very challenging and demanding.
Stellar Regions (1995, **)
Trane has toned things down by the time of this session (February 15, 1967). His classic quartet has split, and while Garrison is still with him, Rashied Ali is on drums and his wife Alice is on piano. The performances are tighter and more focussed than his work of the previous few years, but it's unfortunate that Alice's piano work wasn't as recognized as it should be.