John Coltrane - Leap Of Faith
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Less than a month after Kind of Blue was recorded in 1959, and largely unremarked upon in the glare of publicity surrounding the 50th anniversary of that momentous album, John Coltrane first entered the studio to make what in many ways was that mighty album’s equal: Giant Steps.
As substantial as the other albums of that annus mirabilis, Mingus Ah Um, The Shape of Jazz to Come and Time Out were, Giant Steps on the one hand contains some of Coltrane’s best known compositions but equally importantly laid down the harmonic changes that Coltrane had been developing throughout the early part of his career. Ahead of the anniversary of its release 50 years ago Stuart Nicholson tells the full story of one of the greatest albums in jazz history while Peter Wettre unearths some lesser known facts about the album and Jon Newey charts the history of the album’s release down the years.
In October 1958, a strap-line on the cover of Downbeat magazine announced that John Coltrane was “a happy young man.” It came following a period where he confessed he had been “dejected and dissatisfied” with his playing, but now he was looking forward to the future with optimism. Things, he felt, were finally coming together after what the magazine described as a “frustrating past.” The interview, conducted by Ira Gitler in the Park Central Hotelin New York, discreetly avoided Coltrane’s recent recovery from drug addiction which had inflicted a heavy toll on his ability play.
Now he seemed transformed, as his performances on a broadcast from Café Bohemia in New York with the Miles Davis Quintet in May that year or on Jazz at the Plaza: The Miles Davis Sextet from 9 September, attest. His solos, bursting with notes, dubbed “sheets of sound” by Gitler, threatened to overwhelm his audience. The French critic Francois Postif, who saw him perform several times after his recovery, predicted that his influence on his generation would be, “As great as that of Charlie Parker.” He also reported that pianist Bud Powell was so impressed by the stepchange in his ability as a soloist that he was in the audience four nights in a row. Coltrane was on the up.
This is an extract from Jazzwise Issue #136 – to read the full article click here to subscribe and receive a FREE copy of the latest Partisans CD 'By Proxy'.