Africa/Brass
| Africa/Brass | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1, 1961[1] | |||
| Recorded | May 23 and June 7, 1961 | |||
| Studio | Van Gelder Studio Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:50 | |||
| Label | Impulse! | |||
| Producer | Creed Taylor | |||
| John Coltrane chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music |   [7] |
Africa/Brass is a studio album by the
Background
In 1961, Coltrane came into his own as a front-rank force in jazz, his influence growing from years of live performances with Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and leading his own groups, and from the impact of the albums Giant Steps and My Favorite Things.[10] Impulse Records executive Creed Taylor bought out Coltrane's contract with Atlantic Records, making Coltrane the first artist to be signed to the new company's roster.[11] It was the best contract a jazz musician had ever received after Davis with Columbia, one year followed by two-year options for two albums per year with a $10,000 advance against royalties the first year rising to a $20,000 advance for the second and third years.[12] Backed by the resources of ABC Records and set up to be an instant major player in the jazz market, Impulse! offered him greater scope. Coltrane would remain with Impulse! the rest of his life, and to inaugurate his move to the new label he planned a large-group recording.
Coltrane had not been in a recording studio as a leader since the October 1960 sessions for My Favorite Things, although on March 20 and 21, 1961, he had made a last recorded contribution for Davis, guesting on two tracks for Someday My Prince Will Come.[12] Earlier in 1961, Coltrane had invited multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy to join his band, making it a quintet.[13] Around the same time, bassist Steve Davis departed, replaced by Reggie Workman, at times Coltrane pairing him with a second bassist, Art Davis.[14] With this group in tow, on May 23 Coltrane entered the new Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for the first time; Rudy Van Gelder had been the sound engineer for most of his earlier sessions with Prestige Records.[15] Coltrane would make the bulk of his recordings at the Van Gelder studio for the remainder of his career.
Content
Apparently, Coltrane had initially contacted
In 1974, Impulse released a second album culled from the same sessions,
Reception and influence
In a contemporaneous review that appeared in the January 18, 1962, issue of DownBeat magazine critic Martin Williams had this to say: "In these pieces, Coltrane has done on record what he has done so often in person lately, make everything into a handful of chords, frequently only two or three, turning them in every conceivable way..."[3]
The album impressed minimal music composer Steve Reich, who called it "basically a half-an-hour in E. Jazz musicians say, 'Hey man', what's the changes?' 'E.' 'No! E for half-an-hour!' ".[19]
Track listing
Original release
All tracks are written by John Coltrane except as noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Africa" | 16:28 |
| Total length: | 16:28 | |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Greensleeves" |
| 10:00 |
| 2. | "Blues Minor" | 7:22 | |
| Total length: | 17:22 33:50 | ||
The Complete Africa/Brass Sessions
All tracks recorded May 23, 1961.
All tracks are written by John Coltrane except as noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Greensleeves" (original issue) | Traditional | 10:00 |
| 2. | "Song of the Underground Railroad" (issued on Africa/Brass Sessions Vol. 2) | Trad. | 6:44 |
| 3. | "Greensleeves" (alternate take issued on Africa/Brass Sessions Vol. 2) | Trad. | 10:53 |
| 4. | "The Damned Don't Cry" (issued on Trane's Modes) | Calvin Massey | 7:34 |
| 5. | "Africa" (first version issued on Trane's Modes) | 14:08 |
All tracks recorded June 7, 1961.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Blues Minor" (original issue) | 7:20 |
| 2. | "Africa" (alternate take issued on Africa/Brass Sessions Vol. 2) | 16:08 |
| 3. | "Africa" (original issue) | 16:29 |
Personnel
- John Coltrane – soprano and tenor saxophone
- Booker Little – trumpet
- Julius Watkins, Bob Northern, Donald Corrado, Robert Swisshelm – french horn
- Bill Barber – tuba
- Pat Patrick – baritone saxophone
- McCoy Tyner – piano
- Reggie Workman – bass
- Elvin Jones – drums
May 23 session only ("Greensleeves")
- Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
- Julian Priester, Charles Greenlee – euphonium
- Jim Buffington– french horn
- woodwinds
- Paul Chambers – bass
June 7 session only ("Africa" and "Blues Minor")
- Britt Woodman – trombone
- Carl Bowman – euphonium
- Eric Dolphy – alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute
- Art Davis – bass on "Africa"
Production
- Creed Taylor – production
- audio engineering
- Eric Dolphy, McCoy Tyner – orchestration
- Romulus Franceschini – orchestration on "The Damned Don't Cry"
- Dom Cerulli – liner notes
- Pete Turner – photography
- Michael Cuscuna – reissue production
- David A. Wild – reissue liner notes
- Hollis King – reissue art direction
- Jackie Thaw – reissue graphic design
References
- ^ ISBN 9780415634632. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- AllMusic
- ^ a b Down Beat: July 4, 1963, vol. 30, no. 15
- ^ Jazz Shelf website review
- ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ^ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Jazz (1940s-50s)". tomhull.com. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ Schnabel, Tom (September 9, 2014). "John Coltrane's Africa/Brass: Still Amazing". KCRW. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30.
- ISBN 0-87930-717-X.
- ISBN 0-472-10161-7, pp. 191.
- ISBN 978-0-374-12606-3, p. 66.
- ^ a b Porter, p. 190.
- ^ Porter, p. 192.
- ^ Porter, p. 198.
- ^ Ratliff, pp. 66-7.
- ^ Porter, p. 212.
- ^ Porter, p. 213.
- ^ Ratliff, p. 67.
- ^ "Steve Reich". www.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
