Crescent (John Coltrane album)
Occupation
- Tenor Saxophone: John Coltrane
- Piano: McCoy Tyner
- Bass: Jimmy Garrison
- Drums: Elvin Jones
Crescent is a jazz album by John Coltrane, recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey from April 27 to June 1, 1964 and released on Impulse! Records.
The album
Crescent was Coltrane's first studio album after his collaboration with singer Johnny Hartman in March 1963 ( John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman ). It was half a year before his legendary album A Love Supreme. With his quartet of McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones he only played his own compositions; Coltrane used the tenor saxophone here. It is considered to be melancholischstes and darkest album, after Cook & Morton, the dark hour before the dawn of spiritual Love Supreme. Only the short title of " Bessie 's Blues " rises out of this mood, as is played in medium tempo " Wise One", integrated into the McCoy Tyner with dance accents the samba rhythms of South America. " Wise One" and " Lonnie 's Lament " are rooted in the field calls, spirituals and spontaneous blues.
The title track " Crescent " is " presented with a tremendous anthemic chorus entrance and impressive in a medium- fast pace and mellow maturity improvised " by Coltrane, the Coltrane biographer Gerd Filtgen and Michael Bauer Apart. They recognize the motivic anticipation of the following A Love Supreme: " expressiveness and cohesion have reached an optimum; a further increase seems unthinkable. "
After the "floating blue mood " of " Bessie 's Blues " Coltrane used a rhythm and blues riff as " a vehicle for a vibrant, forward urgent improvisation. He makes it the nerve of the city with all its hustle and bustle and the ubiquitous sounds. "
In contrast, the saxophonist in the following " Lonnie 's Lament " is only the topics supplier; the title is a feature for a wide range of solo pianist, bassist Jimmy Garrison on the connecting "without losing any of its individual expression, Jimmy handles his instrument with excellent perfection. Imaginative melody lines alternate with slight rhythmic shifts. "This title was played at that time by the John Coltrane Quartet also live, Pablo appeared on the album Afro Blue Impressions.
The last song " The Drum Thing " is a feature for the drummer Elvin Jones, which leaves him free room for improvisation, with economical melodic accompaniment Coltrane. Jones leaves here african appearing sounds on the Tomtom hear. Except Filtgen and Bauer wrote this: " With incredible precision new changing rhythmic and melodic ideas are always interwoven. Equally fascinating are the use of different volume intensities. "
The album contains the liner notes by Nat Hentoff a brief comment of LeRoi Jones / Amiri Baraka, John Coltrane as daringly human, ( "daring human" ) referred.
At the April session, a first version of the title "Song of Praise" ( Head Arrangement) was created; the final title appeared in 1965 on the album The John Coltrane Quartet Plays.
The title
- John Coltrane Quartet - Crescent ( Impulse AS -66)
Album Review
Richard Cook and Brian Morton have given the album in their Penguin Guide to Jazz is the second highest rating; they picked out especially the melancholy " Wise One" and the haunting blues ballad " Lonnie 's Lament ". According to the authors contained the latter piece of one of the best solos of bassist Garrison. " The Drum Thing" emphasizes Elvin Jones, otherwise on the Crescent album a less prominent role than on previous albums of the quartet.
The same evaluation also awarded the All Music Guide; he put it out as an epic album that reveal the meditative side Coltrane, as a perfect prelude to his immortal work A Love Supreme. Tyner, Garrison and Elvin Jones in support of its softer side, even if " Crescent " is not held completely in ballad style. Highlights of the album are for the author, the devout, the same free ballad " Crescent ", with a patient and taking a background role playing Coltrane, while connect in the most beautiful " Wise One", the dreamy moods of Tyner with the troubled tenor Coltrane in a slight Latin rhythm. Nastos she calls "ultimate spiritual songs, and two of the really greatest in Coltrane's career." While " Bessie 's Blues " itself out as a classic hard bop theme with short repeated chorus is " Lonnie 's Lament " a dark, sad jazz ballad that a world full of injustice and Unfairnis reflecting in the form of a final eulogy.