Jazz for aficionados

O-10, musicians are not impressed by the complexity, they are impressed by the incredibly high level of the MUSIC he is making. The person who first introduced me to Trane decades ago was not a musician; he was a jazz fan and loved Trane’s music, including music from his "out" period.

Thanks for the Hal Galper clips, acman3!  Hadn't seen those and I thought I had heard just about everything by M Brecker.  Still in his twenties he had a tone that was my favorite.  It changed over the years and got rounder and darker over time; arguably more beautiful but I liked the edge that it had back then.  Good stuff!  

Gino's was packed, and if you were a man about town who went to live venues, you would have thought you were at a professional musicians convention; every local professional musician I knew from the various clubs in St. Louis was there.

There were two couples plus a professional drummer at our table, which was close enough to McCoy Tyner to clearly see the expressions on his face when he pounded the piano.

As soon as the music started, all conversation ceased; this was an audience of serious aficionados, and it was the first time St. Louis would get to see and hear John Coltrane on the Soprano Sax.

The set began with the "Trane" standards that the crowd came to hear, which were all played with extended improvisation. Every local sax man that I had ever seen was there taking it all in.

At last "My Favorite Things", the most important tune of the evening, the one that featured the Soprano Sax, which was brand new in the Winter of 63. That tune and the piercing sound of the Soprano Sax put me in a state of instant bliss; it was almost like the sound was inside my head emanating out, nothing had prepared me for this sound live.


After 15 minutes, which is longer than the recorded version, I was ready for the next tune. After 20 minutes the audience was ready for the next tune, and "Trane" was in the outer reaches of the galaxy. For an instant I saw a look of panic on McCoy Tyners face, (Trane was outward bound) Elvin Jones made eye contact with Tyner, who returned a look that said "Just hang with me".

By this time it sounded as if two different tunes were being played at the same time, while "Train" sailed past Orion's Nebula with his eyes closed in that happy place where musicians go, but he didn't take the audience with him.

"Are you sure Trane is clean" my date asked me, referring to his past bout with controlled substances.

When "Trane" opened his eyes, the look of the audience told him it was time to wrap that one up.

The only way you can hear this extended improvisation is to buy the new recorded sets of these live extended versions.