Ralph Gleason's Jazz Casual - John Coltrane
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Various ArtistsDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Compilation, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 23 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-01-28
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Rhino / Wea
Movie Reviews of Ralph Gleason's Jazz Casual - John Coltrane
Movie Review: Precious Trane Footage
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a must-have if you are a Coltrane fan. I repeat...this is a must-have. There's isn't a lot of Coltrane video footage out there, and here you get three full songs - "Afro-Blue," "Impressions," and "Alabama." You also get a short segment by the host, Ralph Gleason, where he talks about jazz music in general, and here's a piece of that quote:
"The thing that a modern jazz musician does, which you should really keep in mind when you see him in concerts, or see him in jazz clubs, is somewhat similar to looking at a poet standing in the middle of a supermarket and improvising poetry. They are called upon by the discipline of this artform to go into public places where people are gathered informally, and to spontaneously create music. Unlike a poet, unlike the writer of a novel, unlike a painter, they have no opportunity to take this product that they have created and re-form it and correct the mistakes they might have made or change the way in which they approach it. What they do is done for all time, right then, when they do it. This is one of the unique things about jazz, and it's one of the things that gives it a particular quality of aliveness that makes it one of the most interesting and vital of all contemporary artforms." ~ Ralph Gleason
Right on, Mr. Gleason! As for the music...this recording of "Alabama" is only the second recording in existence of the song. It is also found as a studio recording on "Live at Birdland". Obviously, the two other tracks are somewhat abbreviated, but it's only a 30-minute television show. The sound and footage are top-notch for 1963. On Tyner's solos on "Impressions" and "Afro-Blue," the camera zooms in on his hands. Garrison also looks like someone dumped a bucket of water over his head - he sweats a lot. Musically, I'd say the highlight is the interplay between Trane and Elvin Jones on "Impressions." Coltrane plays a soprano on "Afro-Blue" and a tenor on the two other tracks. There's nothing too out of the ordinary from the overal performance but this footage is precious.
Summary of Ralph Gleason's Jazz Casual - John Coltrane
It might not seem like much: 30 minutes, three tunes, four musicians on a bare-bones soundstage. But this is John Coltrane, and any opportunity to see the legendary saxophonist at work is something to be savored. That's especially true with this January 1964 television performance. Some five years after his membership in Miles Davis's immortal Kind of Blue group, he was well past playing the usual standards and ballads; at the same time, he had yet to explore the outer reaches of the avant-garde. Joined here by pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones--the classic Coltrane quartet, and undoubtedly one of the most important and influential groups in jazz history--he works his way through three numbers that were familiar components of the Coltrane repertoire: Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue," which finds Trane on soprano sax and features a typically dynamic Tyner solo; "Alabama," a Coltrane original with a brooding, droning intro and conclusion sandwiched around the middle section's slow, swinging groove; and "Impressions," the modal touchstone, which at nearly 14 minutes long gives all four musicians plenty of room to stretch out.Playing the tenor horn here, Coltrane is typically restless and searching, volcanic and commanding. It's not necessarily pretty, especially when he is backed only by Jones's angry, explosive polyrhythms, but the power is undeniable. The fact that Coltrane says nothing (all other Jazz Casual guests were interviewed by host Ralph J. Gleason) is immaterial; what could he say with his voice that he hadn't already said with his horn? --Sam Graham
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