The Complete Africa/Brass Vols.

1 & 2

CDJ NO 544

The album The Complete Africa/Brass Sessions is a collection of two

separate recording sessions that John Coltrane recorded with a big band that
he assembled in 1961. The group consists of his working quintet of the time,
with the addition of many other highly skilled musicians of the time. The
small group consisted of John Coltrane on soprano and tenor saxophone,
Elvin Jones on drums, Reggie Workman and Art Davis swapping on bass,
McCoy Tyner on piano, and Eric Dolphy on alto saxophone, bass clarinet and
flute. The group was augmented with the addition of Julius Watkins, Jim
Buffington, Bob Northern, Donald Corrado and Robert Swisshelm all on
French horns, Garvin Bushell on piccolo and woodwinds, Bill barber on tuba,
Julian Priester, Charles Greenlee, and Carl Bowman on euphonium, Britt
Woodman on trombone, Freddie Hubbard and Booker Little on trumpet, and
Pat Patrick on baritone saxophone.
Coltrane utilizes the big band in order to create a variety of different
sized groups, which creates a perfect opportunity for lots of contrast and
change in dynamics. At points it may be just bass and drums creating a
theme, such as in the beginning of the arrangement of the traditional song
Greensleves. The varying size of the group during this song creates
sections that are intimate and peaceful, but allows for powerful, explosive
sections (and everywhere in between).
The extreme talent and intensity of the core quintet truly drives this
album. Elvin Jones is like a lightning bolt on the drums. His pure energy
always seems to drive the intensity to the right level at the right time. What
he plays always corresponds on an amazing level to what Coltrane is putting
out, as well as the whole band. He often will drop down in intensity at the
start of a new section, especially for a piano solo (ie. Song of The
Underground Railroad) and he builds or subtracts from his playing according
to how the soloist builds his solo. If the soloist begins to drop in dynamics he
will make it the most suspenseful, dramatic section, but as the solo builds he
throws in more and more, and the whole band ignites like dynamite.
Whats so amazing about the work of John Coltrane with Elvin Jones is
that they both work in a similar way. As they feed one another energy, they
swallow it whole, and their ideas grow and grow. John Coltrane plays many
motifs that are often quick bursts of notes, sounding a lot like what energy
feels like rather than melodies. Elvin supports this with his own energy.
Together they make these strong bursts of energy a strong building block for

solos. To build the perfect solos however, Coltrane also mixes in much more
melodic pieces, and uses repetition of certain phrases in his soloing.
Skillfully, through the use of the major blocks, Coltrane is an architect of
sound. He and the rest of the band build a beautiful bridge for someone with
an open set of ears to cross over and experience.