This is the first part of our Cosmic Jazz celebration to mark the John Coltrane centenary. The show has Coltrane tunes followed by a selection from some of his many admirers, including a group that may surprise you. There is also a remembrance of Cassandra Wilson who died recently.
1. John Coltrane Quartet – Crescent from Crescent
We had hoped to present a full show of John Coltrane tunes selected by Neil but this breaks the MixCloud condition that you cannot present a show featuring one artist only. This reasonably prevents the upload of entire albums, although in our show we made thoughtful selections from different albums. We will look at other ways to celebrate the John Coltrane centenary but for this show, we mix Coltrane tunes with artists known to have admired him. Crescent is from the eponymous album (1964) by what is referred to as the Classic John Coltrane Quartet – John Coltrane on tenor and soprano sax, McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. It was the album released before the celebrated and influential A Love Supreme and points towards that direction. Nat Hentoff in the liner notes refers to the album as disciplined lyricism and notes the quote from Ornette Coleman that Coltrane is the most lyrical player I ever heard. Crescent opens in a melancholy mood and is imbued throughout with contemplative intensity and the aforementioned disciplined lyricism.
2. Nat Birchall – Invocations from Invocations
There cannot be any jazz saxophonist whose influence has been as great on other players as John Coltrane – and this influence can be found worldwide. From North Carolina we travel to Lancashire in the North-West of England, to find British tenor saxophonist Nat Birchall, who is one of those who acknowledges the debt. The liner notes by Francis Gooding to the Nat Birchall album Invocations refers to the chosen tongue of Birchall’s music as that of the spiritualised musical discourse whose vital source can be found in the sacred testaments of John Coltrane. This from an album released forty eight years after John Coltrane’s death… Sacred intensity, deep spirituality, freedom of expression and emotional outpouring – it’s all here in Birchall’s music and it’s all worth exploring. Start with Cosmic Language (2019, Birchall’s other record for the Jazzman label but go back into his work with Matthew Halsall and forward into his Nyabinghi dub experiments. You won’t be disappointed.
3. John Coltrane – My Favorite Things from My Favorite Things: Coltrane At Newport
Derek used to think My Favorite Things was a somewhat ordinary and lifeless tune written by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein III. Then he heard a version by John Coltrane which transformed his impression of the work – a vinyl recording from the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival which was to become the first Coltrane record he bought. CJ used the 2007 CD version which probably sounds better than that now-worn vinyl copy. There are many other Coltrane takes of My Favorite Things available on disc including the initial studio version from 1961 along with other live versions – One Down, One Up Live at the Half Note; The Unissued Seattle Broadcast; Offering: Live at Temple University. Coltrane appeared four times at the groundbreaking and influential Newport Jazz festival (but only the 1963 and 1965 performances were recorded) and he played many festivals – but for Ashley Kahn, author of A Love Supreme and the liner notes for this CD, the Newport Jazz Festival version stands apart from the rest – despite the fact that this not quite the Classic Quartet. Drummer Elvin Jones wasn’t available and was replaced by Roy Haines who brings a lighter touch. Kahn refers to comments from saxophonist Joe Lovano who said that whenever Coltrane played My Favorite Things there was a sense of inspiration but that version (Newport 1963) has an airiness – a different kind of flow and dance to it from the regular Coltrane quartet. For us at Cosmic Jazz, any Coltrane version of My Favorite Things will still be worth hearing and always makes a good place to begin exploring his music. Want 42 versions from 1960-1967 (both live and studio recordings) collected under one roof? Try this incredible archive feat from from the Netherlands via Alles Helpt Publicaties.
4. Michael Brecker – Song For Bilbao from Tales From The Hudson
Tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker (1949-2007) is widely recognised as one of the most influential tenor saxophonists since John Coltrane. Brecker was widely recorded, technically gifted, followed by many other saxophonists and played in a range of styles such as the disco-infused Brecker Brothers with his brother Randy and fusion band Steps Ahead. He also played with numerous other jazz rock and pop musicians including Herbie Hancok, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Steely Dan, Lou Reed, Joni Mitchell and Chaka Khan. For Michael Brecker himself, though, Coltrane was a key influence. He saw Coltrane play live, and the list of people to whom he gave thanks in the notes to this 1996 album begins with The late great John Coltrane. Moreover, the album’s Song For Bilbao and African Skies have McCoy Tyner from the John Coltrane Classic Quartet on piano, It’s worth noting, too that Tales From the Hudson is released on the Impulse! Records label, the home of so many of the memorable and inspirational recordings from John Coltrane and his musicians.
5. Cassandra Wilson – Shall We Dance from Blue Skies
John Coltrane has not been the only jazz musician to improve a Rodgers and Hammerstein tune by changing a tune into a superb jazz number. The late US vocalist, guitarist and composer Cassandra Wilson who died on 01 September 2026, was among those who did it too. Wilson, composed a significant proportion of her own material, but was also adept at transforming and re-interpreting the works of others. Flexibility, warmth, conviction, timing and a sultry contralto are some of the words that have been used to describe her in recent days. Shall We Dance opens her 1988 album Blue Skies and has a blues feel to it and the blues were later prominent in her 1993 Blue Note Records album Blue Light Til Dawn. She was labelled a jazz musician but her music incorporated so much more. Blue Skies included Mulgrew Miller on piano, Lonnie Plaxico on acoustic bass and Terri Lyne Carrington on drums. Among those offered special thanks is saxophonistSteve Coleman, with whom Cassandra Wilson co-founded the influential M-Base Collective.
6. John Coltrane – India from Impressions
For Derek, who compiled this programme, there is no doubt that Coltrane was and remains the greatest and here is further evidence as to why he holds that view. The tune India can be found on a 2008 Impulse Records CD release under the title Impressions and can also be found on The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings. It is a tune needs to be listened to in a state of seriousness contemplation and meditation. John Coltrane was on soprano saxophone, with the Classic Quartet but there was also Eric Dolphy on bass clarinet and Reggie Workman as an additional bass player. It is a tune of modality, of spiritual, uplift of transcendence, of searching and reaching for a higher place. It came after John Coltrane had been studying with sitar player Ravi Shankar and they shared a a deep respect for each other, withJohn Coltrane naming his second son Ravi after him. John’s consequent interest in Eastern music and philosophy was shared by John’s wife and musical collaboratorthe pianist Alice Coltrane. India is a powerful, moving, transforming work of deep resonance that moves and enlightens body annd soul.
7. The Byrds – Eight Miles High from The Byrds Greatest Hits
Derek remembers an NME piece in the time of punk that described the cancellation of a performance by musician David Crosby as a highlight of the week. At the time Derek had some understanding of this but has since turned to considerable admiration and here is an explanation. Crosby was an original member of the pop group The Byrds and the story goes that during the Byrds 1965 US tour of the USA Crosby brought along two cassettes – one the music of Ravi Shankar and the other a John Coltrane album and both were to have a great impact on the band. The Coltrane tune India (see above) was particularly influential for Eight Miles High, where Coltrane’s sitar saxophone effect on India was deployed by lead guitarist Roger McGuinn on his twelve string on Eight Miles High. This is not the only example of a West Coast psychedelic rock band citing the influence of John Coltrane. It was interesting to read that the band Love not only saw John Coltrane but were influenced by him. In the notes to their album Da Capo Love state how Coltrane would play like a ten minute solo and then he’d walk off and leave McCoy Tyner, he would play and then he’d split. Jimmy Garrison would play leaving only Elvin Jones. So we started doing that and everybody loved it and it got to be part of our thing. Those who saw John Coltrane came from a wider circle than might be expected and his influence has been and remains seminal. Take this opportunity of the Coltrane centenary to listen, but don’t stop there… We’ll be revisiting Coltrane in future shows – and going beyond to some surprising musical destinations…