Africa/Brass
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Africa/Brass
- Artist: The John Coltrane Quartet
- Rating:
- Release Date: May 23, 1961
- Total Time: 33:50
- Type: Instrumental
- Genre: Jazz
Review
This CD combines together the two related Africa/Brass LPs that formed John Coltrane's debut on the Impulse! label. On these dates the great tenor was backed by groups ranging from nine to 14 pieces playing pieces arranged by Eric Dolphy. "Africa" (which is heard in two versions) is the most memorable selection on an extended set that also includes "Blues Minor," "Song of the Underground Railroad," and two versions of "Greensleeves." Two other numbers from these sessions (a third take of "Africa" and "The Damned Don't Cry"), both of which were released on the double-LP Trane's Modes, are all that is missing. Although it would have been preferred that such sidemen as trumpeter Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard, and Eric Dolphy himself had received some solo space (only Coltrane, pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and the various bassists get to stand out individually), the music is quite rewarding and sometimes haunting. [Universal''s 2007 edition included bonus tracks.] ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi| Africa-Pella (2003 Album by Alain Nkossi Konda) | |
| Africa/Brass Sessions, Vol. 2 (1995 Album by John Coltrane) |
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Africa/Brass
| Africa/Brass | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by John Coltrane | ||||
| Released | November 1961 | |||
| Recorded | May 23, 1961 (#2) June 7, 1961 (#1, 3) Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs |
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| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 33:50 | |||
| Label | Impulse! A-6 |
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| Producer | Creed Taylor | |||
| John Coltrane chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Jazz Shelf | favorable[2] |
Africa/Brass is the eighth studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1961 on Impulse Records, catalogue A-6. The sixth release for the fledgling label and Coltrane's first for Impulse!, it features Coltrane's working quintet augmented by a larger ensemble to bring the total number of participating musicians to 21. Its big band sound, with the unusual instrumentation of French horns and euphonium, presented music very different from anything that had been associated with Coltrane to date.
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Contents
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Background
In 1961, Coltrane came into his own as a front-rank force in jazz, his influence growing from years of live performances with Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and leading his own groups, and from the impact of the albums Giant Steps and My Favorite Things.[3] Impulse Records executive Creed Taylor bought out Coltrane's contract with Atlantic Records, making Coltrane the first artist to be signed to the new company's roster.[4] It was the best contract a jazz musician had ever received after Davis with Columbia, one year followed by two-year options for two albums per year with a $10,000 advance against royalties the first year rising to a $20,000 advance for the second and third years.[5] Backed by the resources of ABC Records and set up to be an instant major player in the jazz market, Impulse! offered him greater scope. Coltrane would remain with Impulse! the rest of his life, and to inaugurate his move to the new label he planned a large-group recording.
Coltrane had not been in a recording studio as a leader since the October 1960 sessions for My Favorite Things, although on March 20 and 21, 1961, he had made a last recorded contribution for Davis, guesting on two tracks for Someday My Prince Will Come.[5] Earlier in 1961, Coltrane had invited multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy to join his band, making it a quintet.[6] Around the same time, bassist Steve Davis departed, replaced by Reggie Workman, at times Coltrane pairing him with a second bassist, Art Davis.[7] With this group in tow, on May 23 Coltrane entered the new Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey for the first time; Rudy Van Gelder had been the sound engineer for most of his earlier sessions with Prestige Records.[8] Coltrane would make the bulk of his recordings at the Van Gelder studio for the remainder of his career.
Content
Apparently, Coltrane had initially contacted Gil Evans to assist with the arrangements; however nothing came of this, Coltrane turning to Dolphy and Tyner to orchestrate.[9] Originally credited to Dolphy alone on the initial release, that has been corrected with the appearance of the 1995 reissue.[10] Coltrane chose the ancient English folk ballad "Greensleeves," done in a similar major/minor contrast as his popular "My Favorite Things."[11] For the two original pieces, "Africa" and "Blues Minor," Dolphy and Coltrane adapted Tyner's piano voicings for the orchestra. A second set of recording sessions for the album took place on June 7.
In 1974, Impulse released a second album culled from the same sessions, The Africa/Brass Sessions, Volume 2. Two additional outtakes appeared on another posthumous Coltrane compilation, Trane's Modes. On October 10, 1995, Impulse released the complete sessions on a two-disc set entitled The Complete Africa/Brass Sessions. Rather than placing the original album on one disc and the outtakes on the other, it divides the disc content by session, with the May 23 results on the first disc and those from June 7 on the second disc.
Track listing
Side one
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Africa" | John Coltrane | 16:28 |
Side two
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2. | "Greensleeves" | traditional, arranged by McCoy Tyner | 10:00 | |
| 3. | "Blues Minor" | John Coltrane | 7:22 |
1995 reissue disc one
All tracks recorded May 23, 1961.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Greensleeves" (original issue) | traditional | 10:00 | |
| 2. | "Song of the Underground Railroad" (issued on Africa/Brass Sessions Vol. 2) |
traditional | 6:44 | |
| 3. | "Greensleeves" (alternate take issued on Africa/Brass Sessions Vol. 2) |
traditional | 10:53 | |
| 4. | "The Damned Don't Cry" (issued on Trane's Modes) | Calvin Massey | 7:34 | |
| 5. | "Africa" (first version issued on Trane's Modes) | John Coltrane | 14:08 |
1995 reissue disc two
All tracks recorded June 7, 1961.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Blues Minor" (original issue) | John Coltrane | 7:20 | |
| 2. | "Africa" (alternate take issued on Africa/Brass Sessions Vol. 2) | John Coltrane | 16:08 | |
| 3. | "Africa" (original issue) | John Coltrane | 16:29 |
Personnel
- John Coltrane — soprano and tenor saxophone
- Pat Patrick — baritone saxophone
- Freddie Hubbard (#2 only), Booker Little — trumpet
- Britt Woodman — trombone (#1, 3)
- Julian Priester (#2), Charles Greenlee (#2), Carl Bowman (#1, 3) — euphonium
- Bill Barber — tuba
- Garvin Bushell — piccolo, woodwinds (#2)
- Julius Watkins, Jim Buffington (#2), Bob Northern, Donald Corrado, Robert Swisshelm — French horn
- Eric Dolphy — alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute
- McCoy Tyner — piano
- Reggie Workman (#2, 3), Art Davis (#1, 3) — bass
- Elvin Jones — drums
Production personnel
- Creed Taylor — record producer
- Rudy Van Gelder — audio engineer
- Eric Dolphy, McCoy Tyner — orchestrations
- Romulus Franceschini — orchestrations on "The Damned Don't Cry"
- Dom Cerulli — liner notes
- Michael Cuscuna — reissue producer
- David A. Wild — reissue liner notes
- Hollis King — reissue art direction
- Jackie Thaw — reissue graphic design
References
- ^ Africa/Brass at Allmusic
- ^ Jazz Shelf website review
- ^ Lewis Porter. John Coltrane: His Life and Music. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1999. ISBN 0-472-10161-7, pp. 191.
- ^ Ben Ratliff. Coltrane: The Story of A Sound. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2007. ISBN 978-0-374-12606-3, p. 66.
- ^ a b Porter, p. 190.
- ^ Porter, p. 192.
- ^ Porter, p. 198.
- ^ Ratliff, pp. 66-7.
- ^ Porter, p. 212.
- ^ Porter, p. 213.
- ^ Ratliff, p. 67.
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Mentioned in
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(1988 Album by Various Artists)
Delmark - 50 Years of Jazz and Blues: Jazz
(2003 Album by Various Artists)
The Complete Africa/Brass Sessions
(1961 Album by John Coltrane)
Africa Brass Sessions, Vols. 1 & 2
(1961 Album by John Coltrane Quartet)
Africa/Brass Sessions, Vol. 2
(1961 Album by John Coltrane)
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