John Coltrane gives me a Bernsteinian moment

You’re a film nerd like me, so you know that famous scene in Citizen Kane where Mr. Bernstein (played by Everett Sloane) says this to Charles Foster Kane:

he'll never forget her

“A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that girl.”

This scene came to mind last night when I put on John Coltrane’s ‘My FavoriteThings’ (click to listen) at high volume, which I find essential for this tune.

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to it. It came at me yesterday from the album “1963: New Directions” by John Coltrane. It’s a three-disc set that gathers his 1963 master recordings. It’s a fantastic album that includes his lovely recordings with Johnny Hartman which I have written about before.

The 1963 recordings also have some live cuts from the album “Newport ‘63”, which has a version of ‘My Favorite Things’ in all its bombastic glory.

Now why did I start this piece by talking about Citizen Kane?

I can still remember the first time I really heard Coltrane’s recording of ‘My Favorite Things.’ I was in university and doing some work in the library. I had headphones on and was listening to my Discman. (Remember those gadgets?) 

I wanted this sooo badly

It was one of the discs from the “The Last Giant” 2-CD set. What I really wanted was “The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings” but that was far too expensive for a student’s income. I had to settle for the 2-CD version, which was still pretty fantastic.

As I heard that soprano wail yesterday, and McCoy Tyner’s masterful playing, I was instantly transported back through the decades in a Bernsteinian flashback. 

Me and jazz...we've been together a long time.

ADDITION: Upon further reflection, as much as I like the term, this isn't a case of Bernsteinian flashback is it? No, it's more like a Proustian version, where my hearing a song is like Marcel eating a madeleine and is suddenly brought back in time... Oh well. Forgive me for this won't you?

Albums That All Humans Should Own #6

I had a difficult time deciding on this one; not on the band, since the Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet is one of my favourite bands ever, but the decision was whether I should recommend that you rush out to pick up a single album, or if you are an iTunes user (which has many cheap delights for us jazz aficionados) you can download the incredible Complete Argo Mercury recordings. Since the complete set is somewhat pricey (I see it as a steal at $49.99: it does have 95 tracks of which none are weak) I thought I would go with the single album:

'Meet the Jazztet' (1960) by Art Farmer and Benny Golson is my sixth pick of essential albums that all humans should own.

The band line-up says it all:
Art Farmer on trumpet. He is one of the finest players out there. I love his lyricism and his effortless playing.
Benny Golson on tenor sax. Not only is Benny a great player, he is also one of the best writers/arrangers in jazz. He wrote four of the eleven tracks including 'I Remember Clifford' and 'Killer Joe'.
You also go the wonderful Curtis Fuller on trombone, and for those of you who have been following along you know that I have a fondness for Curtis' playing.
And then you have McCoy Tyner on piano making his recording debut. He would of course go on to play in John Coltrane's wonderful quartet of the '60s as well as having a fine solo career which continues to this day.

The music is top-notch and even though it is a large group, it isn't unwieldy. I really can't recommend it highly enough.

Have a listen to 'Killer Joe'. Cool or what? It captures the group at its finest.

Still, if you want to treat yourself, I recommend dipping into your pocketbook and springing for the complete recordings. You won't regret it. It was formerly a Mosaic boxset which would have cost over $150, so you know that those fine folks have filled this set with riches.
I wish I had never heard this band and could spend a few weeks letting the 95 tracks of this set wash over me as they did when I first heard them. I am envious of those of you who have yet to discover this great band!