from the LP Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, Impulse! Records, 1962I’ll be the first to admit that, in the hands of some individuals, the saxophone more than many of its brass peers can be punishment for one’s ears, as the novice player often feels the need to overpower the instrument rather than channel it’s groove; on this ultra-smooth session, both written by and accompanied on the piano with jazz icon Duke Ellington, John Coltrane exhibits the proper way to handle one’s sax---it’s as if he’s simply blowing sweet nothings in your ear. I don’t know enough about the nuances of jazz music to opine on the backing players (it was ‘Trane’s quintet, and many critics would have rather seen him sitting in with the Duke’s orchestra), but to these ears it all goes down as nice as dessert wine! Two jazz legends and noted heads (the Duke was known to love all things marijuana, as was ‘Trane, who also went on to experiment with LSD before his death) in one room, what more can you ask for?!
