Thursday, October 25, 2018

Supreme Quartet Hearing

Well, we have made it to five years of this page, and 52 years of life in general. When I started this thing I thought it would last a month, maybe two. And then there's the blog.
Today is special so we have something fairly special, from someone lots of folks feel is the singlemost important musician of our lifetimes.
I realize that's a bold statement, but he made many in just shy of 41 years on Earth.
To mark the occasion, we've got a concert that's even older than I am. Hard to fathom, I know, but stay with me here.
There's a million boot silver CDs of this set, recorded 55 years ago and in no danger of losing any of its punch or historical significance. It's a somewhat rough recording, but it's rough and ready, trust me.
 I worked on it to get it sounding more unified and less narrow -- the first tune was in mono and the second in some strangely disturbing faux stereo configuration, with the rest a pretty basic and balanced stereo endeavor -- and to give it back a bit of high end where some was sorely lacking. 
It'll never be perfect -- even if the pre-FM reels do someday surface -- but it's still an ultrapowerful document of Mr. John Coltrane in action at the absolute pinnacle of both his abilities, and of The Classic Quartet's ability to supply the sympathetic and dynamic background necessary for Sri Ohnedaruth to get into the nitro zone only he could approach.
John Coltrane Quartet
Tivolis Koncertsal
Copenhagen, Denmark
10.25.1963

CD1
01 Mr. P.C.
02 Impressions

CD2
01 The Promise
02 Afro-Blue
03 Naima
04 My Favorite Things

Total time: 1:27:59

John Coltrane - tenor & soprano saxophones
McCoy Tyner - piano
Jimmy Garrison - bass
Elvin Jones - drums

unofficial silver CDs on the Magnetic label, of unknown gen off-air FM captures from Danish Radio;
remastered, to an extent, by EN (October 2018)
I've got a lot of stuff to do today and some of it might even be fun, so I will keep this brief... but not so brief that I fail to thank everyone and anyone who has read and enjoyed my page these last five years, which have gone so fast it seems.
I'll return to conclude the anniversary celebrations tomorrow with some truly wild fare from two different concerts of legend, but for now you best get on the 'Trane and arrive safely at your destination!--J.
9.23.1926 - 7.17.1967