John Coltrane - Live at Temple University 1966-official release!

[king ubu]

Doesn't sound like some odd late april fool's day joke ...

On September 23, John Coltrane's birthday, Impulse!/Resonance will release Offering: Live At Temple University—a November 11, 1966 performance by Coltrane that took place in Philadelphia less than a year before he died. It features Alice Coltrane on piano, Pharoah Sanders on reeds and flute, and Rashied Ali on drums, along with Sonny Johnson filling in for Jimmy Garrison on bass.

Bootlegs of this concert have circulated in the past, but with inferior sound quality and only a portion of the show, according to the label. Offering includes the entire 90-minute performance remastered at 96kHz/24 bit. It'll be available as a double CD and double LP.

Songs performed include "Naima", "My Favorite Things", "Crescent", "Leo", and "Offering".

It comes with a 24-page booklet featuring liner notes by Ashley Kahn, author of the Coltrane biography A Love Supreme. A portion of the sales will go to the John Coltrane Home, an organization that preserves Coltrane's former home in Dix Hills, New York.

Ravi Coltrane—the son of John and Alice—helped assemble the release. Here's what he said about the album in a statement:

For me the Temple recording is an affirmation that no, he didn't exhaust the saxophone. The saxophone was just a tool—one over which he had a master's command. His voice was an extension of the saxophone, as the saxophone was an extension of his voice. When you hear that transition on ‘Leo,’ it’s totally seamless in energy, vibe and intention.

source:
http://pitchfork.com/news/54512-john-coltrane-1966-temple-university-concert-to-be-released-in-full-for-first-time/

(can some moderator please replace the "&" in the thread title with an exclamation mark? I only get error messages in trying to do so myself)

Edited April 2, 2014 by king ubu

[paul secor]

Release date is almost six months away - enough time for things to shake out as to whether it's for real. If it is, I'm sure a fair number of people here (including myself) will go for it.

[jazzbo]

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I had seen it listed in Japan a few months ago and didn't know what to make of it.

[B. Clugston]

Hope this finally gets released. Very interesting concert from what I've heard. Here's some eyewitness accounts of it: http://www.wildmusic-jazz.com/jcfh661111.htm

[colinmce]

Wow, great. I was enthralled by what I heard. Great cover to boot.

[Leeway]

The eyewitness account was interesting and rather amusing. I'm looking forward to this but the idea of 5 conga players sends chills down my spine

[colinmce]

Now you know how I feel when I see a 'plus flutes!' concept album from the fifties.

[Leeway]

I'm with you on that too!

[Chuck Nessa]

Can "Kobe '66" be far behind?

[king ubu]

Well, they really ought to start the Coltrane Bootleg Series ... there's such an abundance of material, that "Live Trane" box with all the botched info is merely the tip of the iceberg!

[Chuck Nessa]

Yup.

[romualdo]

The Discography entry (pp. 758-759) is revised as follows: Session 66-1111. Replace this entry as shown below: Friday, November 11, 1966 (8:30 p.m.). 'Mitten Memorial Hall Auditorium', Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.

JOHN COLTRANE GROUP: John Coltrane (ts, ss [f.], possibly fl [c., f.], voc [c., f.]); Pharoah Sanders (ts, omit on [a, d, e.]); Arnold Joyner (as [f.]); Steven Knoblauch (as [f.]); Alice Coltrane (p); Sonny Johnson (b, possibly violin); possibly Jimmy Garrison (b); Rashied Ali (dr); Omar Ali (cga); Robert Kenyatta (cga); Charles Brown (cga); Algie DeWitt (bata drum); Dave McLaughlin (voiceover rb ann [a.], discussion); Bob Rothstein (voiceover rb ann [c.], discussion).

a. Naima *1 inc 16:43 2, 3

b. Crescent 26:16 2, 3

c. Leo *2, *3 inc 21:46 1, 2, 3

d. Offering *4 4:23 3

e. Introduction to My Favorite Things *4 3:33 3

f. My Favorite Things *4 19:39 3

Discussion of concert *5 11:38 PR

Track Notes
*1 Joined in progress. Includes voiceover radio broadcast announcement (ca. 5:41–5:50), probably by Dave McLaughlin: “You’re listening to the John Coltrane concert live from Temple University’s Mitten Hall Auditorium on WRTI-FM, 90.1 on your dial in Philadelphia.”
The concert should have begun with an introduction by Master of Ceremonies Ron Wertheimer of WRTI-FM. However, when Wertheimer walked on stage, Coltrane followed immediately behind him and began playing before Wertheimer could speak. This might explain why the beginning of "Naima" is missing--engineer Jerry Klein was waiting for Wertheimer's introduction. (Information from Michael Biel, program director of WRTI-FM, e-mail conversation October 19, 2011)

*2 Includes chanting (5:34 - 5:52) by unidentified band members and a yodel-like vocal (15.42 - 16.31) by John Coltrane.

*3 Includes voiceover during the last few seconds (over applause) without fade-out, probably by Bob Rothstein:
"You're listening to the John Coltrane concert live from Temple University's Mitten Hall on WRTI-FM, 90.1 in Philadelphia." This track is incomplete; a break at 21:27 is followed by drums 21:28 to 21:38 and the voiceover announcement 21:38 to 21:46

*4 66-1111d, e, and f are continuous. 66-1111d ("Offering") is performed by ts, p and b. 66-1111e ("Introduction") is performed by bass only. 66-1111f (”My Favorite Things) includes vocal, probably by Coltrane, at 16:11 to 16:45.

*5 After the concert concluded, WRTI-FM announcers Dave McLaughlin and Bob Rothstein discussed the performance at length. That post-concert discussion is transcribed here.

Session/Personnel Notes
[1] Live radio broadcast on WRTI-FM, Philadelphia.

[2] Bobby Dandy solo piano [impromptu] as opening act.

[3] Rashied Ali had indicated that his brother Muhammad Ali filled in for him at this concert (Rashied Ali interviewed by Yasuhiro Fujioka, October 19, 2003, New York City). In an interview with Robert Kenyatta by Fujioka in Philadelphia, PA on March 11, 2010 (assisted by Bruce Morris), Kenyatta identified the set drummer as Rashied’s older brother Omar Ali. However, pianist Alfie Pollitt (interviewed in Philadelphia by Fujioka with assistance by Bruce Morris, September 27, 2011) provided extensive details on the concert’s personnel, including the presence of Rashied Ali and the opening performance by Dandy. Subsequently, independent research by Ashley Kahn for the notes to the forthcoming CD also confirmed that Rashied Ali performed at this concert. It’s likely therefore that Omar Ali was one of the percussionists.

[4] Thanks to Michael Biel for his considerable assistance with the details of this concert (Interview with Michael Biel by Fujioka during ARSC conference, New Orleans, LA, May 21, 2010).

[5] Sanders recorded with Don Cherry at Rudy Van Gelder’s Englewood Cliffs NJ studio on the afternoon of November 11 (music released onWhere Is Brooklyn, Blue Note BLP 4311), but was able to make it to Philadelphia to perform with Coltrane that night.
(YF, LP, WS, CD, DAW 11/18/12)

Issue Data
1 CD Cool Jazz 025/100 (no. on inlay), 109 (no. on spine) (John Coltrane—Copenhagen 1961 & More) (inc 7:01)
2 CD Free Factory (Eu) 068 (John Coltrane at Temple University 1966)
(Released July 9, 2010 per website amazon.de)
On Free Factory (Eu) 068, 66-1111a. "Naima" includes the rb ann 0.10 (ca. 5.41-5.50); applause at the beginning is probably dubbed. 66-1111c. "Leo" fades out and the applause at the end is probably dubbed. The inlay shows incorrect and incomplete personnel.
CD Cool Jazz (J) 239 (John Coltrane/Temple University). ([c.] “Leo” inc 20:35)

3 CD Impulse! (J) UCCI-1015/6 (John Coltrane/Live at Temple University) (2 CD). (release date not yet announced).

From David Wild's "John Coltrane Reference" updates page

finally!!!

Edited April 2, 2014 by romualdo

[CJ Shearn]

Cool! About time this comes out officially, I had been holding out on checking out the boots for this very reason. Everything from this period of Trane's career is so interesting."Leo" is certainly so intense from "Live in Japan", probably one of my favorite performances from that, will love to hear that from this gig.

[Guy Berger]

Woohoo! Exciting. I'd only heard a few excerpts from this concert.

[7/4]

Best news I've had all week.

[kh1958]

This can now be pre-ordered in CD or LP form on the Resonance Records website.

[mjzee]

I'm curious as to what the connection is with Resonance. Why couldn't Impulse put this out on their lonesome?

[jazzbo]

Maybe the Coltrane family wants to be supportive of Resonance Records mission? And perhaps UME thought that the nature of this release as far as sound quality warranted a lease to Resonance more than a UME Impulse! release.

http://www.resonancerecords.org/artist.php?artist=John+Coltrane

Resonance Records
A Non-Profit Jazz Label With a Mission.
Devoted to Preserving Jazz and Discovering the Rising Stars of Tomorrow.

Resonance Records is a program of a California 501©(3) non-profit corporation, the Rising Jazz Stars Inc., created to discover the next jazz stars - passionate, brilliant musicians from around the world. We assist and support them through recording, performance opportunities and distribution of their art. Every Resonance CD and DVD is produced without compromise, to create and preserve our artists' jazz legacy.

Edited April 10, 2014 by jazzbo

[erwbol]

Also,

Resonance Records, which is a 501 ©(3) non-profit foundation, will contribute a portion from every sale to the John Coltrane Home (www.thecoltranehome.org), an organization devoted to the preservation of Coltrane’s former home in Dix Hills, New York.

[jazzbo]

There you go.

[mjzee]

But Impulse could have done that. Must have something to do with who owns the tapes.

[jazzbo]

Sure they could have. But how generous do you think UME is in such matters? My guess: not very if at all.

[JSngry]

The cover still has an impulse! logo on it, correct?

[jazzbo]

Right. I imagine they've licensed it to Resonance. Think what a shot in the arm this may be for them.

Edited April 10, 2014 by jazzbo

[clifford_thornton]

I have an incomplete boot of the Temple performance, so will be picking this up on CD. Fantastic stuff.