Elvin Jones Music

All of the music on this collection was previously available except for the 1963 recording of Impressions w/ Roy Haynes (an excerpt was previously available). The recording apparently had some problems with low-end distortion and Jimmy Garrison's bass. Thanks to the digital revolution, the folks at Impulse were able to clean some of it up, but most of Garrison's solo is M.I.A. (you can't hear the edit as far as I can tell).

It certainly is kind of weird hearing Haynes with Trane. Haynes is a very powerful drummer but he still doesn't have that explosiveness we hear when Elvin is behind the kit. Still, it's great stuff. There is an extended duet between Trane and Haynes on the 23+ minute version of Impressions.
My Favorite Things and I Want to Talk About You are also very good with Haynes. Supposedly this particular performance of Favorite Things is a high-water mark. I'm not so certain though. I definitely prefer Elvin behind the kit. It also sounds like the snare (for which Haynes is well known for his technique) is a bit too "hot" in the mix for my liking but maybe it's just a matter of getting used to hearing the rest of the band playing without Mr. Jones.

The tracks from the 1965 appearance at the Newport festival are also available on the Impulse release "New Thing at Newport". That music is just breathtakingly intense. Explosive! and of course, Elvin is on hand for this performance. Archie Shepp's set on that release is not to be missed either. Shepp and Bobby Hutcherson make quite a good creative team. Of course, you don't get that material here, you'll have to by both CDs to get all of the music and you are going to have to duplicate One Down, One Up and Favorite Things from Trane's 65 set at Newport. That's ok, it is worth owning both discs. I already had "New Thing at Newport" but I just had to have this so that I could hear this extended performance of Impressions. It was worth every penny. This is must have for any Trane fan, period.

I've owned a copy of this disc for about three weeks now and am completely obsessed with it, listening to nothing else. Both Newport sets represented here are masterful.

Others have waxed authoritative here, so I won't attempt that, or to detail the history.

To me the most surprising thing here is the presence of Roy Haynes, who drums for the '63 set. Though his snare sounds like a paper bag or a sheet of bubble wrap (i.e. appalling), his performance is as close to perfection as possible. I associate Haynes more with the bop school, moreso than "the new thing," so this is a cool revelation. His interplay with Coltrane through the '63 set is, if anything, more remarkable than Elvin Jones' work in 1965.

As others have said the take of "Impressions" is phenomenal. There's a six minute McCoy Tyner solo, followed by a real cryin' shame: Jimmy Garrison begins what sounds like promising solo, but we only end up hearing about 30 seconds of it. Why? His bass is so "on mic" that it clips and distorts, and not just a little bit...the first time I heard it I thought I'd blown a speaker, the distortion is that bad. There's no way to clean that up really...so all but the first bit of Garrison's solo is lost to us. Truly a shame. Afterwards, Coltrane re-enters and gradually all the players except he and Haynes drop out. From 10 minutes out the two play off one another in sublime fashion.

The '65 set is comprised of just two numbers. Apparently, things were running late and the quartet was allowed only a half hour. As always, "My Favorite Things" comes off well. "One Down, One Up" is exhaustive and intriquing, though Elvin Jones seems a little lost here and there.

One minor benefit of this disc is the recorded comments of the two emcees and the fact that each insists the audience go home immediately when Coltrane's sets are over! What a different world than we inhabit today. No encores are allowed. Time is up. GO HOME NOW is the unsubtle thinking. The emcee for the '65 set was Father Norman O'Connor. His comments and "personality" are, forty years later, embarassing. He comes off as the kind of annoying "hip vicar" character portrayed so often in 60's British comedy, including the seminal "Beyond the Fringe." It's hard to imagine how, in 1965, you couldn't stop yourself--in public--from using the words "Detroit boy" to describe a black jazz musician (!) and to say Coltrane was, in reference to his band, "master of them all." Master? Does that imply the others are slaves? Oy! Ouch! You just cringe for the guy. Willis Conover, jazz broadcasting veteran, manages to make no such gaffes in 1963.

This release is much better in sound quality than the previous release of some of the same material under the title "Newport '63." If you bought that version I would consider rebuying this as an upgrade. You also get the full version of "Impressions" from the '63 set. And almost as a bonus you get the '65 Newport set, and wow Elvin Jones just kills on "One Down, One Up." You also get to see Trane's evolution in just two short years. Overall this is very enjoyable, and easily accessible.

great live record by john coltrane, above all the version of impression,
i suggiest this record to everibody.
danilo ravanelli

Generally not a fan of constant repackagings of the same material, this disc is perfect for me because the Newport '63 album was one of the very few Coltrane albums I never heard/bought.

The Coltrane & Roy Haynes '63 duo performance of Impressions is why you need to own this album. John's playing is monumental! As with One Down, One Up: Live at the Half Note, this album is largely about John and Jimmy. McCoy is intolerable in '65, and Elvin seems to be trying to hang on. Thankfully Alice and Rashied replaced them later in the year

The Gods seem to smite thee when what is seeming like it's going to be a devastating, aggressive Garrison bass solo is cut because (as the notes say) there was some brutal distortion or choppiness on the tape. DARNIT!! Instead we get every second of every mindnumbing Tyner solo. I feel odd talking about McCoy like this, as I enjoy him so much in earlier years. Here and on One Down One Up though, my god. Were '65 the only year from which I knew his playing, I'd flat-out hate him. By '65 he was only in the band out of a sense of commitment or "family" or something. His playing is painfully out of place. John was changing at a rapid rate, and beginning to push his own limits with daring feats of imagination (though moreso on the One Down discs than on the '65 material here). McCoy comes off as a stagnant, one-trick-pony on most of this disc and on the entirety of One Down. I grew to hate his left hand as time went on, as he approached every song the same way, regardless of mood or melody. To put it bluntly, McCoy got old young.

Still... Impressions (this slays me!) and to a lesser extent the two versions of My Favorite Things make this essential. I prefer these 2 versions of MFT because they aren't faded out and don't have a radio announcer talking over them as they begin to get going. Such is the case on One Down. Get this for John & Jimmy but if you'd like to give someone else a try, if you want to hear A BAND, I recommend getting the oft-overlooked Alphaville Suite . That, my friends, is interactive, listening-based ensemble improvisation.

Newport In New York '72: The Jam Sessions, Vols. 3 and 4 [2 LP Set] [Stereo] TRACKS: 1. Perdido [Juan Tizol & Duke Ellington] [18:53]; 2. Misty [Erroll Garner] [3:29]; 3. Now's the Time [Charlie Parker] [13:50]; 4. Blue 'n Boogie [Dizzy Gillespie] [28:11]; & 5. So What [Miles Davis] [25:13].
Personnel: Joe Newman-tpt (1-3); Nat Adderley-cor (1-3); Illinois Jacquet, Budd Johnson-tsx (1-3); Gerry Mulligan-bsx (1-3); Tyree Glenn-tbn (1-3); Jaki Byard-p (1-3); Chubby Jackson-b (1-3); Elvin Jones-d (1-3); Clark Terry, Howard McGhee-tpt (4); Sonny Stitt, Dexter Gordon-tsx (4); Gary Burton-vbs (4); Jimmy Smith-org (4); George Duke-p (4); Al McKibbon-b (4); Art Blakey-d (4); Harry Edison-tpt (5); James Moody, Flip Phillips, Dexter Gordon, Zoot Sims-tsx (5); Rahsaan Roland Kirk-tsx, stritch, manzello, whistle (5); Kai Winding-tbn (5); Chuck Wayne-g (5); Herbie Hancock-p (5); Larry Ridley-b (5); & Tony Williams-d (5).


As you can see, there are some heavy hitters here, and they are all in great form! I went crazy over this double album when I first heard it and still do. Plenty of time for all to stretch out on the big numbers, and they really show off there chops!
I've been looking for this on cd for a couple of years now with
no luck, then, while checking for more cds by Jimmy Smith, I came across:

"THE BEST OF NEWPORT IN NEWYORK'72 vol 1 "MORE JAM SESSIONS" (and the Jimmy Smith Jazz Set).

It's almost all there.
BLUE & BOOGIE #1 28:11
SO WHAT 25:13
BLUE & BOOGIE #2 15:26 (plus a Medley)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The only songs left off of this one is:
PERDIDO" 18:53
NOW'S THE TIME" 13:15

So if you want vinyl and you can afford the price of this album, buy it!
IF you want it in CD format, do what I did and check-out:

Best of More Jam Sessions and the Jimmy Smith Jazz Set, Volume 2

Either way, you really CAN'T afford not to own this music. Invite your friends over, break out the food and drink, because this album is a party! ENJOY

This album is most likely the result of both entities being under contract by the same record label at the time (Vanguard Records). I was never a big Oregon fan, although I will grant that I have always regarded them as very fine musicians. However, I have a great deal of fondness for much of Ralph Towner's solo albums. What's interesting to me is the effect that Elvin Jones has on Oregon in this project. Elvin brings them down to Earth quite a bit here which is probably why a guy like me likes this album and a true Oregon fan probably would not. On the other hand, an Elvin Jones fan may not like this as much as they would listening to Elvin playing with say Coltrane or Dave Liebman or Steve Grossman. This may explain why this album has been out of print for such a long time which is a shame because I think this album is still worth listening to. How often do you get to hear Oregon in the 1970's actually swing a little bit like they do on the opening track "Le Vin"? Paul McCandless' bass Clarinette work is at times Dolphy-esque in "Three Step Dance". Great Latin sounds in "Cherango" and "Brujo" with the latter featuring Elvin's best drumming in the session. He and Colin Wolcott also had a very nice percussion duo in "Driven". The only small criticism I have with this album is that most of Ralph Towner's work here is on piano and while I have nothing against his piano playing (it's actually quite good), I want to hear Ralph play guitar, especially 12 string guitar. We only hear him on guitar on "Cherango" & "Brujo". Can somebody here in the USA re-issue this album please?