If you came across a CD titled
Getz for Lovers,
Prez for Lovers, or
Baker for Lovers, you wouldn't be the least bit surprised. After all,
Stan Getz,
Chet Baker, and
Lester "The Pres" Young were all famous for their smooth
ballad playing -- if you've been listening to
Julie London or
June Christy and suddenly find yourself in the mood for something comparable by an instrumentalist, those guys would be obvious choices.
John Coltrane, however, isn't necessarily the first person that people associate with adjectives like smooth and romantic.
Trane could be a very forceful, aggressive player -- some reviewers have described his playing as "angry" -- and during the last few years of his life (when he was exploring atonal
free jazz), the saxman could be downright blistering. Nonetheless, the fact is that
Trane was a magnificent
ballad player, and it makes perfect sense for
Verve to assemble a collection of his more romantic work. Released in 2001,
Coltrane for Lovers draws on such
Impulse! titles as
Coltrane (
"Soul Eyes"),
Impressions (
"After the Rain"), and
Ballads (
"It's Easy to Remember").
"My Little Brown Book," a
Billy Strayhorn gem, is from
Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, while
"They Say It's Wonderful" illustrates the triumphant nature of
Trane's 1963 encounter with singer
Johnny Hartman. Back in 1963, there were those who felt that
Coltrane and
Hartman, a very sophisticated crooner, were an odd combination. But in fact, the two provided to be every bit as compatible as
Coltrane and
Ellington. Again,
Coltrane was versatile -- he loved to play forcefully, but that didn't prevent him from having a romantic side.
Coltrane for Lovers doesn't tell the entire story where
Coltrane's ballad playing is concerned; the saxman also did his share of stunning
ballad work at
Prestige and
Atlantic. Nonetheless, this is an excellent collection that has no problem reminding us just how warm and expressive his
ballad playing could be. ~ Alex Henderson
![Quiet Nights [Deluxe Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602527157405_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Quiet Nights [Deluxe Edition]")
