Concise Coltrane

[Milestones]

I just wanted to see where a discussion on Coltrane's more concise pieces would go.

Of course, Trane was known for very long and intense solos.  When I was first getting into Coltrane, I very much thought of his work in this vein--"Impressions," "Chasin' the Trane," "My Favorite Things," Spiritual."  The last part of his career was known for incredibly long performances, sometimes past the 30-minute mark.  And even in the early Prestige days he had all kinds of appearances on long jams (sometimes an LP side long), though to be sure there was plenty of space allotted to other players.

But I put together a couple of playlists (CD length) of Coltrane in truly concise form.  Some very famous and acclaimed pieces did not even make it to 2:30--"Alabama" and "Countdown."  How about "Bessie's Blues" at 3:35?  Two of his greatest mellow piece don't go much beyond 4 minutes: "Naima" and "After the Rain." I like the concise songs on Ballads and on Blue World, which I finally got around to checking out. 

Anyway, each playlist features 16 tracks.  I'm sure I could have made one with 20 tracks. 

It's not that we want to see Trane's legacy simply represented by brief takes in the manner of Bird or Coleman Hawkins in his early days.  But by concise, I have included some tunes that run nearly 7 minutes long, though none that crack seven. But guess you could say this is an atypical approach to listening to Coltrane. 

[danasgoodstuff]

(2) Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane - Why Was I Born? - YouTube

Coltrane & Burrell, Why Was I Born?  Concise, spare, beautiful.

[Gheorghe]

How about Coltrane´s fantastic playing and sound on the 1956 Prestige album Tadd Dameron with John Coltrane ? 

All those beautiful tunes, "On a Misty Night", "Soultrane" "Mating Call" , and Coltrane is in top form on those .....

Edited August 26, 2021 by Gheorghe

[Milestones]

Yes, all great and concise pieces.  I've loved "Why Was I Born?" for decades.