John Coltrane Quartet – The John Coltrane Quartet Plays

Four pieces at a turning point

A song from Mary Poppins, a composition made famous by Nat King Cole and two originals form the programme of The John Coltrane Quartet Plays. Recorded in February and May 1965, it belongs to the period following A Love Supreme. Familiar material and Coltrane’s own writing meet while the music of his group continues to develop.

McCoy Tyner plays piano, Jimmy Garrison bass and Elvin Jones drums. This is the classic quartet, joined by Art Davis as a second bassist on “Nature Boy.” Producer Bob Thiele and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder oversaw the sessions in Englewood Cliffs. Four selections occupy the two LP sides; the additional material found on later CD versions is separate from the programme presented here.

A Disney song on soprano saxophone

“Chim Chim Cheree” was written by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman for the 1964 film Mary Poppins. Coltrane plays it on soprano saxophone. A song from a popular film becomes the starting point for a quartet performance whose development is not restricted to the length of its original screen appearance.

That familiar melody offers a useful way in. Keep its outline in mind while following how it acts as a reference for the improvisation. When does the tune become recognisable again, and when does the movement of the group take more of your attention? “Nature Boy,” written by eden ahbez, provides a different setting. Here Art Davis joins Jimmy Garrison on bass. Adding a second bassist was one of the possibilities Coltrane had already been exploring since the early 1960s, rather than a personnel detail unique to this album.

Tyner, Jones and the space between them

The second side contains Coltrane’s “Brazilia” and “Song of Praise.” Running for almost thirteen and almost ten minutes, they give the group a more extended span in which to develop the music. They need not be heard merely as preparation for later records: the pieces and the musicians provide plenty of reference points within this album itself.

McCoy Tyner’s piano makes a useful alternative centre of attention. Follow his entries and their relationship to the drums, then revisit a passage from the perspective of the bass. The boundary between accompaniment and foreground is something to listen for rather than assume in advance. The balance of two outside compositions and two originals also invites comparison: how much direction comes from an established melody, and how much emerges through the decisions made during the performance?

The Acoustic Sounds Series stereo LP

AIMP 68461 is a single 180-gram stereo LP playing at 33⅓ RPM, pressed at Quality Record Pressings. Matthew Lutthans handled the mastering and lacquer cutting at The Mastering Lab. Acoustic Sounds explicitly describes the mastering of this edition as all-analogue. It comes in a Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket. The programme comprises “Chim Chim Cheree,” “Nature Boy,” “Brazilia” and “Song of Praise”: the four selections of the 1965 LP, including the additional bass on “Nature Boy.”

Michael 45 keeps the record in Germany and dispatches it from Hilden, allowing customers to order without organising a personal US import or waiting for customs clearance.

More by John Coltrane Quartet: Ballads

Artist page: All titles by John Coltrane

Series: Impulse! – all 19 records: the house that Trane built

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.