Album of the Week: Aug. 31 - Sept. 6

[Joe]

First, thanks to Late for the nomination.

Now, as to what I'm going to inflict on you all... Let's see... an album "deserving of wider recognition", IMHO...

Johnny Coles - NEW MORNING (click here to buy)

Not as "conservative" a choice as it appears. Trust me.

Ciao,

Joe

[Joe Christmas]

god what a prude.

[Joe]

Al -- it was a toss-up between the Coles and:

[Brad]

I don't have this or the album Late is sponsoring but I'm looking to order both today. Seem like very interesting choices.

[Joe]

Brad -- I hope you mean the Criss and Coles, not the Criss and the Venom.

Though, I have to say, for what that band was, Venom is pretty darn intriguing... My thanks to ShawnD from the old BN BBS for opening my ears to them...

Edited August 14, 2003 by Joe

[Late]

Aha! My local library actually has this. Just saw it yesterday. Will have to go back to check it out.

Dig the line drawing, too.

[sidewinder]

By some fortuitous miracle of timing I came across a brand spanking mint copy of this in the racks yesterday. The Penguin Guide writeup is also extremely complementary so looks like a good acquisition.

Looks as if the session was recorded during the same European tour that brought Coles to London as part of Mingus Dynasty, back in 1982. The only time I ever saw him live.

Gives me a week or so to check it out before commenting further ....

Edited August 17, 2003 by sidewinder

[Late]

Have spun this once so far. Before getting ahead of myself, I'll just say that this is a good acquisition indeed.

Where exactly was this recorded? I couldn't determine a specific location from the notes. The Netherlands?

[sidewinder]

Recorded Monster in the Netherlands.

Incidentally that piccie at the back of the LP of Johnny C jogged my memory. He was wearing exactly the same jacket and white cap at the Mingus Dynasty gig. They also featured him on 'Duke Ellington's Sound of Love' if my memory is correct, which also features on side 1 of the LP. B)

First spin of this one - fantastic record.

[Brad]

Just got this. And gave it a quick spin on the office computer. A very good choice indeed. Thank you Joe.

[catesta]

I don't have this date. Looks like a good one to get.

Thanks Joe.

[DrJ]

Excellent album, great choice. Coles is criminally neglected in jazz discussions. By another odd coincidence, I just picked up GROOVIN' FOR NAT (1201 Records, a 24-bit remastering of a Black Lion date) which features the two-trumpet lineup of Donald Byrd and Coles and Duke Pearson on piano (1962). Coles quite frankly blows Byrd out the water on this one.

I will give NEW MORNING another spin tomorrow and post further thoughts!

Edited September 3, 2003 by DrJ

[JSngry]

Thoise who think that Coles had "limited" or even "poor" technique should check this one out. GREAT record with a version of ''Duke Ellington's Sound of Love'' that doesn't make me scream obscenitites or hurl furniture in revulsion at the desecration of a sacred anthem, not as easy a feat to accomplish as you might think.

[Soul Stream]

Hey, great pick. I've never even HEARD of this record. I love the little Coles I've heard (Yes, I think he played his ass off on The Waiting Game, so ). Anyway, thanks for turning me on to something new.

[Joe]

There’s a single, or singular, maybe, reason I love this record – Johnny Coles’ TONE. Yes, “warm” as the title of his first session as a leader (Epic, 1961) described it in near space-age bachelor pad terms, but with a cool center. Breathy, slightly hoarse. Maybe its better to say his timbre is singed at the edges. Whatever – the Coles’ sound is a mixture of oppositional elements, the difficulty of adequate description of which also calls to mind the late David Rosenthal’s description of Art Farmer’s sound – “tart”. Sour, but... sour cream.

Now, usually, I don;t dig flugelhorn all that much. Its a little too roly-poly for my taste, and its mechanics can make even the most fleet player sound logy. But listen to how Coles exploits the fullness of the instrument’s qualities on this record. “Johnny Coles... in PANAVISION!” Couple this tone with Coles super-hip articulation, and you have a rare brass player who somehow bridges the gap (which may anyway exist only in my mind) that separates Rex Stewart from Chet Baker. Maybe this is why Gil Evans showcased Coles in the 60’s whenever the arranger wasn’t re-negotiating with Miles and Teo Macero.

I almost don’t have even to listen to Coles’ solos on this record. I could just listen to him play the unusually lyrical theme to saxophonist Charles Davis’ “Super 80”, hit the stop button, and be happy. But my curiosity invariably gets the best of me, and I let the track play. Listen to how involved he gets in the harmonies during his solo. In some ways, the solo on “Super 80” is a jazz improvisation that spins out so many arabesques and penetrates so deep that it is nearly “out”. And speaking of “out” – isn’t the title track something else? A modal, Spanish-tinged construct that really keeps your interest and doesn’t just see-saw back and forth from major to minor. This is the track, I feel, on which Coles’ esteemed accompanists really out-do themselves, from Billy Hart’s quasi-AEC opening gong to the oft-kilter, killer groove that the Parlan / Johnson / Hart trio sets up.

It seems to me, in listening to this disc yet again, that, much as I feel that Coles, and not Miles, was the trumpet player born to bring life to Gil Evans’ scores, that the association with Gil may have hurt Coles’ career in the long run. Not only did it force him somewhat into Miles’ shadow, make him Miles’s understudy for many fans, but – oh, irony – it deflected attention away from his considerable abilities as a soloist onto his talents as a musical colorist. (I know some have complained that Coles is habitually out of tune. I can’t tell.) And there’s no question that Coles could shade like few other players could. Perhaps more than his other few leader dates, really shows off Coles could do. that the opportunity came so late in his career seems both a shame and a blessing.

Edited September 4, 2003 by Joe

[DrJ]

Well, Joe, there's not much more I can add to that excellent passage, you captured so much! I particularly liked:

And speaking of “out” – isn’t the title track something else? A modal, Spanish-tinged construct that really keeps your interest and doesn’t just see-saw back and forth from major to minor. This is the track, I feel, on which Coles’ esteemed accompanists really out-do themselves, from Billy Hart’s quasi-AEC opening gong to the oft-kilter, killer groove that the Parlan / Johnson / Hart trio sets up.

TOTALLY agree, among the group of excellent cuts on this CD, that's the track that's had me reaching for the repeat button on my car CD player throughout my several errands today. The tune before that one, another Coles original called "Mister B" is also really the stuff.

Anyway, I'm a huge Coles fan in general, and LOVE that tone. THE WARM SOUND indeed, but with an appealing tartness at the edge that makes even a flugelhorn sound just a bit less rounded than it does in other hands (example: Art Farmer, who I love also but actually had a much more conventionally "pretty" and rounded, warm sound on the flugel than Coles).

Another thing I was considering on listening: I don't think I've ever heard anyone talk about Reggie Johnson as a bass player. He has a very fine outing here, and his work on "United" is jaw-dropping...steals the show there. Add to that his collaborations with Hutcherson/Land (e.g. PATTERNS), and a whole slew of others (check out the "played with" section on All Music Guide) and you have someone that probably deserves a LOT more of my attention on future listens to sessions he's involved with.

I do have one quibble with this record, and that's the way Billy Hart was recorded. His snare sounds like a cardboard box...brittle and flat to the extreme. One of my favorite post-bop drummers, so I hate doubly to hear that. But it's minor, not something that should keep anyone from taking the plunge in the least.

Edited September 4, 2003 by DrJ

[mikeweil]

Sorry I missed the discussion of this - I love Coles' playing, and always thought it was a shame he did only four albums as a leader, plus the co-led for Uptown in his latter days.

Any discussion about his chops aside, he was a stylist - and that's what counts, from my perspective. He was in great form when he recorded this, and clearly in charge.

Are there any recollections of how he was as a person?