Search - John Coltrane :: Coltrane for Lovers

John Coltrane has always been best known for stretching the limits, creating titanic, extended improvisations filled with exploding, cascading flurries of notes, but he was also one of the most lyrical of musicians, capable of the most heartfelt and touching ballads. The material here is taken from his Impulse! recordings made between 1961 and 1963, drawing largely on Ballads, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, and Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, albums that showcased his sensitive side. Coltrane's silvery sound brought an utterly new dimension to tenor saxophone balladry, a metallic clarity in which each note is given its own luster and nuance. Listening to these ballads gathered together, Coltrane seems to touch on every mood of romance, from longing to rapture to reflection, imbuing each song with an ineffable grace. His theme statements are sublimely beautiful, while his improvisations add new depths with their unique mix of strength and delicacy. "In a Sentimental Mood," with Ellington's shimmering, bell-like piano figure and Elvin Jones's animated drums perfectly complementing Coltrane's tenor, is simply one of the most memorable ballad performances ever recorded, but it's surrounded here by other gems. "Soul Eyes" is wistful reverie, while "You Don't Know What Love Is" has touches of an unsettled, passionate incantation. The tracks with Johnny Hartman are a rare meeting between a singer and a musician who are profoundly attuned to one another, with Coltrane's flutelike fills on "My One and Only Love" or his solo on "They Say It's Wonderful" conversational expansions on the lyrics' sentiments. --Stuart Broomer