Album Reviews

What seemed like an unlikely pairing in 1962 of “jazz elder” 63 year old Duke Ellington with John Coltrane, who had just assembled his ”classic quartet” destined to explore uncharted musical (and spiritual) territory, produced a surprisingly cohesive and satisfying album.

Coltrane brought along Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison, while in his musical court Ellington had Sam Woodyard and Aaron Bell, who played together only on Ellington’s “Stevie” and the closer, “The Feeling of Jazz”. Bell joins Jones on the opener “In A Sentimental Mood”—which after a few bars makes clear that the pairing will most likely work well.

The 7 tune set included 5 Ellingtons one Strayhorn and Coltrane’s “Big Nick,”, which finds Coltrane in an unusually playful, whimsical mood on soprano sax and Ellington laying back and unusually “cool” and economical. For this pairing to work at all, both had to move musically to accommodate the other. On Ellington’s “Angelica” after an appropriately cinematic piano intro Coltrane does take off and Ellington almost exits. The chemistry worked so well the album was completed in a single session. Both had only good things to say about the session, Coltrane in the liner notes, Ellington in a book.

I have a first-press mono Van Gelder mastering (Impulse! A-30) (but according to Discogs, it’s really a “3rd pressing” because the label says “A product of ABC-Paramount” instead of “A product of Am-Par Record Corp”) and a second press stereo (AS-30) mastered at Bell Sound instead of at Van Gelder’s. This new Ryan Smith cut reissue should please everyone who buys this record, including owners of the stereo Bell Sound cut and presumably the RVG cut as well since both were done on Scully lathes. I prefer the mono cut that puts all in the same acoustical space that hangs together. The stereo mix puts the drummers in the right channel placed in a unique space with its own reverb, Coltrane in the left channel in his own space and Ellington in the center. Mono or stereo RVG gets a transparent, close up horn sound and shimmering drum sonics too with the less than ideal piano presentation typical of that RVG era. The pressing I received was perfectly quiet throughout and flat.

While some consider this album “holy grail” essential, I don’t, especially in a crowded field of great reissue titles coming at us from all sides. However, if your budget is flexible and expansive you will definitely enjoy this meeting of two jazz masters.