John Coltrane - Complete Sun Ship Sessions

[king ubu]

http://www.amazon.com/Sun-Ship-Complete-John-Coltrane/dp/B00B7IJEMY/

These recordings made the rounds ... needless to say I'm overjoyed to see this announced, "Sun Ship" is among my very favorite Coltrane (and that means: jazz) albums!

David Wild has this update on his site:

Update Note: this completes the documentation of the session reels for this session. Everything recorded at this session (including all takes and conversation) is scheduled for release in spring 2013 on Sun Ship: The Complete Sessions (Impulse, catalogue number not yet available).

(12/23/12 WS, DAW)

[erwbol]

Great news. Now if only the remastering is not as loud as on the recent Impulse originals series. Very uncomfortable on headphones.

[J.A.W.]

Discussion on the Hoffman board: http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/john-coltrane-sun-ship-the-complete-collection-verve-select-march-19.307527/

[king ubu]

Thanks for linking there!

I'm more excited than most seem to be over there, since, as I said, "Sun Ship" is among my very favorite Coltrane albums!

[CJ Shearn]

Very cool! I'll be buying this I think.

[jazzbo]

This is good material, and I'm happy it's coming out. I pre-ordered.

[Stefan Wood]

Surpirsingly, I might hold off buying this one. I love this period, however, there's too much other stuff demanding my attention, and I hate listening to cds that have many multiple takes of the same tune. Yes, it's Coltrane, and he did each one differently, but I'll wait.

Edited February 1, 2013 by Stefan Wood

[felser]

Surpirsingly, I might hold off buying this one. I love this period, however, there's too much other stuff demanding my attention, and I hate listening to cds that have many multiple takes of the same tune. Yes, it's Coltrane, and he did each one differently, but I'll wait.

Looking at the Hoffman board discussion, I think I'm with you on this. Sun Ship is, to me, the fulcrum point of the Coltrane discography, where he stood for the last time on the diving board, just before he dove off into the ether. But I don't think I will pay $25 for rejected takes and studio chatter.

[Head Man]

Sun Ship is, to me, the fulcrum point of the Coltrane discography, where he stood for the last time on the diving board, just before he dove off into the ether.

For me, he'd already dived off before then. I have this album but it's not one I ever play now.

[king ubu]

Interesting, as to me this was one of the few "free jazz" albums I could totally dig way before I was able to really dig any other late Trane (such as "Ascension", "Meditations", "Interstellar Space"). I've long grown into loving all of it very much, but "Sun Ship" somehow holds a special place in my house. As music of stark beauty, and a kind of straightforward honesty that is solemn and sublime.

[jazzbo]

One of my favorite aspects of Sun Ship is the different recording venue and engineer for the album. A different look into the recorded sound of the Quartet.

Edited February 1, 2013 by jazzbo

[JSngry]

Like the music, got a copy of the broadcasts a while back, now have a moral compunction as well as a musical pleasure to buy this officially.

[king ubu]

same here

[CraigP]

I have soft spot for Sun Ship because as a teenager in 1974 I walked into my local record store and bought this as my first exposure to Coltrane. I also picked up my first exposure to Ornette Coleman, Crisis, that day.

[erwbol]

Interesting, as to me this was one of the few "free jazz" albums I could totally dig way before I was able to really dig any other late Trane (such as "Ascension", "Meditations", "Interstellar Space"). I've long grown into loving all of it very much, but "Sun Ship" somehow holds a special place in my house. As music of stark beauty, and a kind of straightforward honesty that is solemn and sublime.

The first late Coltrane I connected with was "At The Village Vanguard Again!" and I find it hard to understand why this music is still dissed so often. Now I'm no musician so perhaps to many "At The Village Vanguard Again!" and "Live In Japan" are just noise and this is simply beyond my comprehension. All I know is I prefer Coltrane from Crescent onwards and have little use for a lot of the Atlantic and some of the meek early Impulse! albums.

[mracz]

Surpirsingly, I might hold off buying this one. I love this period, however, there's too much other stuff demanding my attention, and I hate listening to cds that have many multiple takes of the same tune. Yes, it's Coltrane, and he did each one differently, but I'll wait.

IMHO in this case the extra material is worth it, and I'm not an obsessive collector of alternate takes...

[Guy Berger]

I love this album, and have heard this extra music on some discs that were circulating (along with various leftovers from the Ballads and Coltrane sessions). Some of it is worth hearing, but the large number of breakdowns is not. I'll probably pass on this, too much other music I haven't heard it.

[felser]

The first late Coltrane I connected with was "At The Village Vanguard Again!" and I find it hard to understand why this music is still dissed so often.

Two reasons for me. 1. Pharoah Sanders 2. The Jimmy Garrison bass solos. I tend to just hit "eject" when the Coltrane solos are done on that album. I do fine with the Sanders-led albums on Impulse (even like 'Tauhid' quite a bit), but what he was doing with Coltrane on a lot of that stuff, ('Meditations' being the one exception I can think of), especially the live albums, is just incomprehensible to me. Boy, did poor McCoy Tyner sound spoofed by it all on "Live in Seattle". And don't get me started (again) on 'Om'.

Edited February 2, 2013 by felser

[David Ayers]

Meanwhile I am just learning about all the unreleased Impulse! Coltrane from the 2005 article mentioned on the Hoffman board - go here and scroll down http://www.personal.psu.edu/bdk4/aop.htm

Did you guys know about this?

[David Ayers]

re. Sunship, the original LP was murky to say the least, the single CD reissue and the box set version are as so often over-bright and harsh. If I hear this has the kind of sound I like I'll go for it but maybe three versions in a lifetime was enough....nah, but four might be enough...

[king ubu]

David Wild just wrote on the Coltrane mailing list that the new release will indeed contain the entire reels, all music in session order, it will not contain the edited takes Ed Michel produced for the original release .... and it will contain liners by Wild.

Furthermore, Wild says Mosaic will be doing an LP version.

[sidewinder]

Furthermore, Wild says Mosaic will be doing an LP version.

Whoahh !

[king ubu]

3LP Set, so a big less pricey, I guess ... might indeed be very tempting to get this!

I was posting from my smartphone before, don't quite know how to copy/paste there, so here's the quote from David Wild's mail:

I was fortunate enough to write notes for this one. It's the complete

session, taken directly from the original 4 session reels (in the order

recorded). The release has all the music from the session, but it does NOT

include the edited versions put together by Ed Michel for the 1971 version.

I learned yesterday that Mosaic will put out a 3 LP vinyl version of the

session, probably not long after the Verve CD set is released.

I have no current information about the Temple release, which got as far as

album design before it stalled. I suspect there were legal complications in

getting permissions from all those who wound up on stage that night...What

we know is listed on this page:

http://www.wildmusic-jazz.com/jcr_1966.htm

Paperback and ebook versions of the Coltrane Reference are due out this

month...

[John L]

The first late Coltrane I connected with was "At The Village Vanguard Again!" and I find it hard to understand why this music is still dissed so often.

Two reasons for me. 1. Pharoah Sanders 2. The Jimmy Garrison bass solos. I tend to just hit "eject" when the Coltrane solos are done on that album. I do fine with the Sanders-led albums on Impulse (even like 'Tauhid' quite a bit), but what he was doing with Coltrane on a lot of that stuff, ('Meditations' being the one exception I can think of), especially the live albums, is just incomprehensible to me. Boy, did poor McCoy Tyner sound spoofed by it all on "Live in Seattle". And don't get me started (again) on 'Om'.

I also don't care much for Sanders contributions to VV Again, or for Garrison's endless bass solo. But Coltrane's solo on Naima alone makes the record an absolute classic in my book.

[king ubu]

But Coltrane's solo on Naima alone makes the record an absolute classic in my book.

:tup

He makes Sanders look like a schoolboy in short trousers, he's so much better, truly worlds apart!

VV Again is one of those Trane albums I took a longtime first to buy (I've had the LP borrowed from a highschool teacher once and gave it some spins, made me a K7 copy of it, but didn't return to it often) and then took a while to appreciate. I enjoy Garrison in general, less so Sanders, but the whole album is still very, very good in my book - and Trane is great on it!