A recording many consider his finest single album, and rightly so,
John Coltrane displays all of the exciting elements that sparked brilliance and allowed his fully formed instrumental voice to shine through in the most illuminating manner. On tenor saxophone he's simply masterful, offering the burgeoning sheets of sound philosophy only he perfected into endless weavings of melodic and tuneful displays of inventive, thoughtful, driven phrases.
Coltrane plays a bit of soprano saxophone as a primer for his more exploratory work to follow. Remember this is 1962, at a time when he was rethinking his style vis a vis the work he did influenced by
Ornette Coleman, and only five years prior to his passing. Of course bassist
Jimmy Garrison, drummer
Elvin Jones, and especially the stellar
McCoy Tyner have integrated their passionate dynamics into the inner whole of the quartet. The result is a most focused effort, a relatively popular session to both his fans or latecomers, and five selections where it is difficult to nit-pick because they are so brilliantly conceived and rendered. "Out of This World," at over 14 minutes in modal trim, is a powerful statement, stretched over
Tyner's marvelous and deft chords, the churning rhythms conjured by
Jones, and the vocal style
Coltrane utilizes as he circles the wagons on this classic melody, including a nifty key change. "Tunji" is a mysterious, easily rendered piece in 4/4 which speaks to the spiritual path
Coltrane tred, a bit riled up at times while
Tyner remains serene. Hard bop is still in the back of their collective minds during "Miles' Mode," a sliver of a melody that jumps into jam mode in a free-for-all blowing session, while the converse is to be found in
Mal Waldron's "Soul Eyes," the quintessential ballad and impressive here for the way
Coltrane's holds notes, emotion, and expressive intellectuality. On soprano you can tell
Coltrane is close to taking complete control of his newly found voicings, as a playful, jaunty "The Inch Worm" in 3/4 time is only slightly strained but in which he finds complete communion with the others. Even more than any platitudes one can heap on this extraordinary recording, it historically falls between the albums
Olé Coltrane and
Impressions -- completing a triad of studio efforts that are as definitive as anything
Coltrane ever produced, and highly representative of him in his prime. [A bonus CD version was also released.] ~ Michael G. Nastos