John Coltrane
Blue Trane

THE REVIEW

You can't talk about Jazz without knowing the greatest jazzman we've ever had. We're talking about John Coltrane. Throughout his career, he worked with many people who stood out in the jazz music scene of those times. Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Dizzy Gillespie. One better than the other. It was inevitable that such a musician would rise in this manner. It was Davis who brought him to the level of fame we know today. Coltrane was a well-rounded musician, not only an exceptional player and composer in terms of the saxophone, but also a master with the piano. So much so that, as a young boy, he made his best performance with his mother's piano.

Coltrane began making records in 1957. He started releasing a slew of albums, one better than the next. The first and most important were the eponymous Coltrane and then Dakar. It was during those years that the man came out with the most important record of the first phase of his production. We are talking about Blue Train. We could truly say that, in terms of quality, we're on another level. The first track is the one that gives the album its name. It's a jazzed-up blues piece that makes you jump out of your seat. It starts with a solo that immediately makes you understand who you are dealing with. Another piece is 'Locomotion', 8 minutes of fire, still with the blues, alternating between slow and fast movements. The riff sticks to your brain like honey. In Moment's Notice John takes everything he learned from Dizzy and creates a melody that showcases all his hidden potential. Lazy Bird is an old tribute to Charlie Parker, another great jazzman, nicknamed Bird, and the song is indeed called "Crazy Bird." The album closes with I'm Old Fashioned, covered by half the world, but Coltrane manages to make it his own in a very melancholic way.

We're talking about one of the most important albums in Coltrane's production. Along with a couple of other albums, like A Love Supreme, it's arguably the best of the best he ever released. Applause also goes to all the musicians who were with him, because an album of this caliber could only have been made with a highly prepared band. A Coltrane that's simply extraordinary.