On Nov. 23, 1965,
John Coltrane recorded the finest album of his two-year collaboration with fellow tenor
Pharoah Sanders, the intense and sometimes violent but spiritual
Meditations.
'Trane utilized an expanded sextet that also included pianist
McCoy Tyner, bassist
Jimmy Garrison and both
Elvin Jones and
Rashied Ali.
Tyner and
Jones would soon depart, so this was the last meeting on records of those two masters with
Coltrane. Thirty years later on Dec. 9, 1995,
Dave Liebman revisited the five-part suite. Although all of the themes are utilized in the same order,
Lieb's version is not a re-creation and even utilizes a different instrumentation:
Liebman (who for a long time had specialized on soprano and flute) back on tenor, trumpeter
Tiger Okoshi,
Caris Viscentin on oboe, guitarist
Vic Juris,
Phil Markowitz on keyboards, both
Tony Marino and
Cecil McBee on bass, and
Jamey Haddad and
Billy Hart on drums. Some of the intensity of the original version is present, particularly on
"Love" and "Consequences," but obviously the sound is quite a bit different, particularly with the use of guitar and electric keyboards, which take the place of
Sanders' tenor. Although the heights of the earlier recording are not quite reached,
Dave Liebman and his ensemble come awfully close at times, and their playing throughout the lengthy performance (which is both a little reverent and quite exploratory) is quite memorable. Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow
