The flight of an albatross

In the Miles Davis 75th anniversary edition back cover you can read that this album change your life. I think simply a miracle: Miles Davis (trumpett), John Coltrane (who returned with Davis after a year working with Thelonious Monk) and Julian “Cannonball” Adderley (sax), Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Jimmy Cobb (drums). Five new tracks. Improvisation. Two sessions (march 2 and april 22,1959. Yes, this is a miracle, and I’m a believer

I have no words to talk about this album. People with more knowledgment has written about it (in fact there is a good book: Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece by Ashley Kahn; you can read some Bill Evans notes). It’s not only a masterpiece of bebop, nor of jazz. It’s a masterpiece of music, and must be among Beethoven, Bach or Chopin opus.

If you are a beginner in jazz, I strongly suggest you hearing it.

Via Jam Session, we have the announce of XI Ciclo de Jazz of Fundación Barrié. This year we’ll have events in Coruña and Vigo too.

I think the more interesting lives will happen here: Gary Burton (April 8, Palacio de la Ópera) and Jim Hall Quartet (April 29, Palexco). Of course, Benny Green Trio with Bob Mover will make a good performance at Vigo, too.

The Barrie’s series improve year to year, there always are interesting people. Last year came Jimmy Cobb (Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue”, 1959).

The lonely weak point is the events are free. So every year I must wait in the street some hours to get the tickets.

I’ve just bought this 2-CD box with two live sessions (NY March 26, and May 7, 1965) performed by the legendary John Coltrane Quartet (John Coltrane, sax, McCoy Tyner, piano, Jimmy Garrison,bass and Elvin Jones, drums). These sessions has been passed hand on hand in bootlegs, but recently Impulse Records edited and remastered the recordings.

I didn’t hear all the John Coltrane’s discography, but I understand here we have an inflection point.

The first track, that gives the name to the box, is an arrow to the very hard bop we can hear in “Meditations”(1965) to the final “Olatunji Live” (1967). In fact, the Quartet would dissolve that year.

In “Afro Blue” I see the African roots of the hard bop, and future influences to actual accoustic groups like Chick Corea and Brad Meldhau trios.

I think the improvisation of “Song of Praise” connects with the masterpiece “A love supreme” (1964). More than in “Afro Blue”, the Quartet seems a trio, and Coltrane only appears like spice in different moments.

Finally, “My favorite things” is an amazing 22 min. improvisation using a theme from a musical as leiv motiv. You can guess what is.

(Hey, this my humbly first public comment about jazz, and I’m not an expert, please don’t get in anger )