The Red Garland Quintet with John Coltrane - Dig It! (1957) {2009 Prestige RVG Remasters Series}
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© 2009 Concord / Prestige | 0888072315921 | Prestige RVG Remasters Series | 24-bit remaster | PRLP 7229
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano
I was the
engineer on the recording sessions and I also made the masters for the
original LP issues of these albums. Since the advent of the CD, other
people have been making the masters. Mastering is the final step in the
process of creating the sound of the finished product. Now, thanks to
the folks at the Concord Music Group who have given me the opportunity
to remaster these albums, I can present my versions of the music on CD
using modern technology. I remember the sessions well, I remember how
the musicians wanted to sound, and I remember their reactions to the
playbacks. Today, I feel strongly that I am their messenger.
The quintet
represented on this album is widely regarded as being one of the most
exciting and effective of the Fifties, even though the majority of its
work did not come to light until that decade was over. The apparent
paradox in that statement is resolved by the fact that this was
primarily a recording unit, and although its participants have appeared
together publicly in various combinations (most notably Red Garland and
John Coltrane), a Red Garland quintet such as is represented here on
this record was never a regular working unit.
The three previous collections which feature this unit, All Mornin' Long
(Prestige 7130), Soul Junction (Prestige 7181), and High Pressure
(Prestige 7209) were very well received, and the nature of the comment
about them points to the reasons why this was such a valuable unit. Even
given the undeniably unique nature of Coltrane's playing, the quintet
represents, in many ways, the essence of New York jazz of the Fifties.
The format itself is that established by Charlie Parker and Dizzy
Gillespie, and which became the standard basis of the bop and post-bop
bands: saxophone, trumpet, and three rhythm. The material was made up of
blues, originals, and the best pop and show tunes. Although some
lasting jazz pieces came out of this arrangement, the emphasis was
almost never on the material itself, but on the treatment of that
material. Blowing dates, in other words: vehicles for the display of
individual emotion.
Such a loose, free musical arrangement necessitates a high degree of
extremely sympathetic rapport between the players involved. With so much
emphasis on individual performance, it is easy to see how performances
conceived in this manner can degenerate into strings of mutually
unrelated solos. It is perhaps an extra challenge to a musician to know
that he is treading a very thin tightrope between meaningful jazz and
pointless self-indulgence, and that may to some degree account for the
small number of classic recordings which have resulted from this format.
On the other hand, we are all far more familiar than we would like to
be with examples of the latter possibility: sloppily played heads,
perfunctory solos, endless running of the same old changes.
It should go without saying that the better and more highly developed
the individual talents of the musicians involved, the more likely the
chance for success will be. And since the time of these recordings, at
least two of the musicians involved have carved ineradicable places for
themselves in the story of jazz of the Fifties; the rest have been
important contributors.
Red Garland, the leader of these sessions, occupies a unique place in
the story of jazz piano. That such immediately accessible music as his
should have become controversial is somewhat surprising. But it has, in a
possibly significant way. People who write about jazz or discuss it in
private have come to employ Garland's work as a standard of comparison.
It is quite common to hear a new pianist spoken of as owing a debt to
Red Garland; whether or not the assessment is a complimentary one is a
matter of the private taste of the person making the comparison, but it
is almost always made. First coming to general attention as a member of
the Miles Davis Quintet, he has gone on as solo performer and leader of a
trio to record a large series of albums, mostly standards, in which he
gradually seems to be compiling a definite list of his impressions of
the more durable popular songs of our time. In some ways, his career is
reminiscent of Erroll Garner's: he is widely acclaimed, contemptuously
derided, many people treasure his albums who have little use for any
other jazz and through it all, Garland goes right on, doing what he does
and leaving the analysis to others. |
Personnel:
Red Garland – piano
John Coltrane – tenor saxophone
Donald Byrd – trumpet
George Joyner – bass
Paul Chambers – bass
Arthur Taylor – drums
tracklist:
01 - Billie's Bounce
02 - Crazy Rhythm
03 - CTA
04 - Lazy Mae
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