Description
The John Coltrane Quartet ushered a new jazz sound with their 1961 landmark, which was greeted with critical apathy at the time - judged on the basis of former works with Thelonious Monk & Miles Davis - but has since become appreciated, adored, for steering the big band sound into new terrain, tones, with unusual instrumentation; French horns and euphonium
?Africa/Brass, released in 1961, was John Coltrane?s first album for Impulse! Records and a turning point in his recorded output. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder?s studio and produced by Creed Taylor, the project expanded Coltrane?s working quartet into a large ensemble, pairing his searching tenor and soprano saxophone with dense, brass-heavy orchestrations by Cal Massey. Arrangements by Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner helped shape the album?s distinctive sound, weaving tuba, euphonium, French horns, and more into a powerful backdrop for Coltrane?s improvisations. With key contributions from trumpeters Booker Little and Freddie Hubbard, bassist Reggie Workman, drummer Elvin Jones, and others, Africa/Brass reframed the idea of a ?big band.? One of the most important early Impulse! releases, Africa/Brass announced Coltrane?s arrival on the ?house that Trane built? with radical clarity. Verve Acoustic Sounds Series is remastered from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl.?
