John Coltrane Quartet: Afro-Blue [1963]
written by Mongo Santamaria
recorded live at Birdland (52nd & Broadway), October 8, 1963
available on the classic Live At Birdland
Trane's re-entrance after McCoy's solo, coming on the heels of Elvin's thunderous tom-tom fill, is among the most spine-tingling moments in musical history.
(dedicated to MLK)
Elvin Jones really makes it that much better, doesn't he? He was playing until he died in 2004, with an O2 tank on stage with him while he played. I was lucky enough to catch him playing in Tokyo in 1998, or sometime around then. He was the Elvin Jones of 1963, but seeing him was a moment I'll never forget.
ReplyDeleteYes, Elvin sounds fucking great on this. I only saw him once, in Cambridge at the Regattabar. The highlight was a hard-hitting rendition of "It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing", which I still recall vividly.
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, I also saw Elvin do a drum clinic in L.A. He mentioned he had been listening to Beethoven's 9th.
r.i.p. Alice Coltrane
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