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160.93.192.199
Limited vinyl edition of 2000 hand-numbered pieces, alongside a regular CD issue.The concert was recorded with his final working band nine months before Trane's death, plus some local friends, acquaintances, and the then-18 y.o. Steve Knoblauch, who managed to sneak into the backstage area and was invited by Trane to blow a chorus.
Pieces of the show have been available for years on poor quality boots. This is the entire gig as recorded by the Temple student radio station WRTI. The 1800-seat hall was barely a third full.
The performance is typical (odd word to use to describe this kind of music, but there it is) late-period Coltrane. It is definitely an acquired taste. My first exposure to him was in 1973 when a high school friend gave me Sun Ship. Being a fifteen-year-old into Hendrix, Sabbath, and the Who, I had no trouble with the aggression and tricky time signatures of the music - I worked backwards from there into his more accessible work. At this point, he was exploring the outer edges of modal jazz, and even some of the fans who'd followed him through his increasing experimentation were falling away.
That said, this set is not quite as 'wooly' as the Concert in Japan or Sun Ship. He performs "Naima," "Crescent," and "My Favorite Things" from his earlier catalog (though the first two especially are largely abstract, with the themes only being hinted at), plus "Leo" and the title track. Overall, the feeling is more relaxed than other sets from the period, though it's still very challenging.
The concert also contains a couple of examples of Trane's vocalizing, esp. on "Leo." He puts his horn down and begins chant/singing wordlessly, occasionally beating his chest to change the tone. The liner notes offer some speculation as to his reasons for this, but it remains inscrutable.
Regarding the recording and the vinyl: though intended for broadcast, the show was not taped from the soundboard (if indeed there was one). Apparently the station DJs positioned a microphone at the edge of the stage, about where the horn soloists would play. Thus, while Trane and Pharoah Sanders come through loud and clear (unless they step away from the mic), the rhythm section and the rest of the players are very distant. This is a shame, as Rashied Ali and Alice Coltrane are in fine form, offering rolling yet melodic drum and piano patterns that drive the solos forward while speaking clearly in their own voices. It's easy to hear how they were building on the legacy of Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner while helping the leader progress to the next stage of his development. The mono pressing, by RTI from a hi-res digital transfer, is adequate. The first LP in my set is slightly off from completely flat, though it doesn't affect the tracking. Heard a couple of very minor ticks, though these might have been pressing debris that I didn't catch when I cleaned it. Though they obviously took care to get all they could from the tape, it is still an amateur recording.
The cover mimics the layout and graphics of the Impulse! releases of the time. However, it's a direct-print Stoughton cover, not the high-gloss tip-on the label used. An insert is included that contains some photos, a clipping from the Temple student paper saying how the student activities board hoped to make up the loss they took on the show with proceeds from Dorm Day and a Dionne Warwick concert, and, best of all, excellent liner notes that offer great insight into the background of the show, the scene backstage, and the musical ideas and techniques assayed by the group. The LP edition also includes a set of nicely-printed postcards from photos by Frank Kofsky, though it's unclear if any of them actually came from the gig (judging from the lineups etc., most are from other sessions).
Given the difference in cost (at +/- USD$55 for the LPs, more than twice that of the CDs), I'd have to say that CD or digital is the way to go. The music itself is priceless; if the vinyl were issued at the same price point as the compact disc, I'd say unreservedly to jump on it, but given the limitations of the source material and the average quality of the jacket, the presentation is not worth the premium.
Edits: 09/25/14 09/25/14 09/25/14 09/25/14Follow Ups:
Thanks for the review and for refreshing my memory. I'll have to get the recording. I attended that concert in 1966, and I didn't like much of it. I was a teenager and my knowledge of Trane was limited to his work with Miles Davis band and his recordings on Atlantic. Imagine my surprise.
Much of what you hear is Pharaoh and it seems there were at least three or four other sax players. I thought Alice Coltrane was a poor substitute for McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison wasn't there. Steve Knoblauch looked ridiculous. He was jumping around while he tried to play. I thought his jumping was much better than his playing. Trane was backstage for a long while before he came out for the last tune. Then it was obvious he was very sick, which I didn't know previously. I had the feeling that he was expressing his pain and spirituality. Trane could talk to you through his horn and he was praying.
It was moving.
Trane died of liver cancer nine months later. If I knew then what I know now.....
neo
BIRD LIVES
NT
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