Recording of the Week, Another Side of John Coltrane

There’s little doubt that John Coltrane’s work as a bandleader produced some of the most widely respected and influential jazz music in of the 20th century - but as with any great jazzman, he cut his teeth as a sideman in the bands of his peers, with folks like Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk giving Coltrane an early platform for his playing. Early on, Coltrane found himself in the studio with Miles recording for Prestige, and Coltrane himself would also record his own albums for the label; though not his most fondly-remembered releases, mostly due to the intervention of overly-controlling label owner Bob Weinstock. These Prestige releases feature Coltrane at his most reserved, uncharacteristically so even for the time. Besides these Prestige recordings are appearances made on Jazzland Records (not to be confused with the modern Norwegian label Jazzland Recordings), as well as its parent label Riverside. Some notable inclusions in this selection include his excellent solo over Miles Davis’s recording of ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’, recorded in early 1961 for the album of the same name. It was with Davis’s band in particular that Coltrane truly started to forge his own sound, an excellent but somewhat understated performer before joining his troupe.

The year of 1957 would also be the only time John Coltrane collaborated with Thelonious Monk, and the recordings featured on Another Side of John Coltrane are sourced from the two records their brief time together would produce - Thelonious Himself and Monk’s Music, both released that same year, including the classic Monk standards ‘Epistrophy’ and ‘Monk’s Mood’. The latter has Coltrane locked in tight with Monk’s piano phrase, and the two never stray too far apart throughout the track, while ‘Epistrophy’ has the horn player practically blazing over Monk’s chart, and is one of the fierier takes in the collection. Despite being relegated to sideman duties, Coltrane is consistently on top form throughout this release; even on the Davis recordings he commands every inch of your attention, particularly on the tune ‘Oleo’, itself a reworking of Gershwin’s ‘I Got Rhythm’, with an assertive solo that takes up the bulk of the track’s runtime.

Coltrane’s playing with some great groups to boot - even if you’re not listening for Coltrane, you’ve still got some excellent picks from the aforementioned Monk and Davis, as well as Sonny Rollins, Tadd Dameron, Art Taylor and Red Garland. These recordings would be made around the first time jazz critic Ira Gitler coined the term ‘sheets of sound’ to describe Coltrane’s improvisational style; Another Side of John Coltrane chronicles an early period of great artistic growth for the saxophonist.