This pithy yet effective compilation was part of a late-'60s/early-'70s "Best Of..." campaign from
Atlantic Records that also boasted single-LP installments from the label's
jazz elite, including
Mose Allison,
Ray Charles,
Herbie Mann,
Eddie Harris,
the Modern Jazz Quartet,
Charlie Mingus,
Charles Lloyd,
Hank Crawford,
Ornette Coleman, and
David "Fathead" Newman. To modern consumers, the six-song track list may seem a bit wanting. However,
Atlantic Records co-founder and
jazz aficionado
Nesuhi Ertegun knew exactly what he was doing when he gathered the half-dozen prime examples of
John Coltrane (tenor sax/soprano sax) at his undisputed peak. If the mandate was to present the artist in as diverse a spectrum as possible, the mission is accomplished with remarkable attention to detail and brevity alike.
"My Favorite Things" opens the package with
Coltrane on soprano saxophone. He wisely incorporated a widely familiar and accessible tune as an aural entree into his style to the untrained (as it relates to
jazz) ear. As such, the recording has probably done more to increase the popularity of modern
jazz than any other. The support from
McCoy Tyner (piano),
Elvin Jones (drums), and
Steve Davis (bass) are executed with a steady undercurrent of rugged precision. The ballad
"Namia" -- a poetic paean to his wife -- was one of the primary components of the highly recommended
Giant Steps (1960) album.
Coltrane can be heard at his most stridently cool. So much so that his lead literally hovers above the rest of the ensemble, with
Wynton Kelly (piano) occasionally interjecting emphatic and melodic chord voicings. No examination of
Coltrane's
Atlantic era would be possible without
"Giant Steps," as it could well be the biggest "hit" of the entire genre.
Coltrane's flurries have rarely been as uniformly on target as they are here. He plays like a man on a definite mission as he, quite simply, redefines the art form by example. In less than five minutes, he demonstrates the enormous potential of the next generation of
jazz.
"Cousin Mary" is a harbinger of things to come from
Coltrane's later phase as his solos would often expand into quarter-hour, half-hour, or longer forms of self-expression. All that, without one superfluous note. Again,
McCoy Tyner steps up his game by uncannily placing his compact interpolations with telepathic insight.
"Central Park West" is another illustration of
Coltrane's haunting romanticism. In doing so, he exposes a wonderfully soulful side to his craft. Particularly enchanting is the warm tonality he infuses into the lines to produce a sound that is practically beyond description due to its simple and evocative beauty. ~ Lindsay Planer
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