2.23.2012

2/20/12: John Coltrane - Blue Train (1957)

2/20/12: John Coltrane - Blue Train (1957)

  1. Blue Train
  2. Moment's Notice
  3. Locomotion
  4. I'm Old Fashioned
  5. Lazy Bird
     "Blue Train" is John Coltrane's second solo album and was released in 1957. It was really early on his career so his stuff was definitely still more traditional musically then his later recordings. The songs follow a basic thirty-two-bar blues form. Its a really upbeat album that almost sounds big band like at times. Apparently this album is also famous for being the first time Coltrane was recorded playing what are now known as Coltrane Changes. I tried understanding that fact but apparently was something he created for improvisational sections that did not follow the traditional rules of harmonic progressions. He expounds on that method further on his album "Giant Steps" which I'm sure I'll get to later.
     I enjoyed my time working with this album in the background. I could definitely tell what he was on his way to doing on this album. Its drastically different than the albums I've listened to a lot by him like "A Love Supreme" and later albums yet at the same time I can hear the roots of those albums here. I really have yet to find a Coltrane album I can't at least bop my head to. (051)

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