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Evenings at The Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy

John Coltrane

Evenings at The Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy
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Awards:

There have been some fascinating, and absorbing, discoveries of previously unissued Coltrane material culled from a variety of sources, but this one takes the biscuit.

Evenings at The Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy

John Coltrane

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2 Vinyl Records

$31.25

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Awards:

There have been some fascinating, and absorbing, discoveries of previously unissued Coltrane material culled from a variety of sources, but this one takes the biscuit.

About

In August of 1961, the John Coltrane Quintet played an engagement at the legendary Village Gate in Greenwich Village, New York. Coltrane’s Classic Quartet was not as fully established as it would soon become and there was a meteoric fifth member of Coltrane’s group those nights— visionary multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy. Ninety minutes of never-before-heard music from this group were recently discovered at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, offering a glimpse into a powerful musical partnership that ended much too soon. In addition to some well-known Coltrane material (“My Favorite Things”, “Impressions”, “Greensleeves”), there is a breathtaking feature for Dolphy’s bass clarinet on “When Lights Are Low” and the only known non-studio recording of Coltrane’s composition “Africa”, from the Africa/Brass album. This recording represents a very special moment in John Coltrane's journey—the summer of 1961—when his signature, ecstatic live sound, commonly associated his Classic Quartet of '62 to '65, was first maturing and when he was drawing inspiration from deep, African sources— and experimenting with the two-bass idea both in the studio (Olé) and on stage. This truly rare recording of "Africa" captures his expansive vision at the time.

Contents and tracklist

A1 My Favorite Things

B1 When Lights Are Low

B2 Impressions

C1 Greensleeves

D1 Africa

Spotlight on this release

Awards and reviews

  • Jazzwise
    Recommended Reissue/Archive
    August 2023
  • Presto Recording of the Week
    14th July 2023
  • Presto Best Jazz Reissue/Archive
    Finalist 2023

August 2023

There have been some fascinating, and absorbing, discoveries of previously unissued Coltrane material culled from a variety of sources, but this one takes the biscuit.
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