This is a four CD set of the John Coltrane Quartet on tour
in Europe in the late fall of 1961 with special guest Eric Dolphy on alto
saxophone, bass clarinet and flute. Coltrane alternates between tenor and
soprano saxophone, and the band is rounded out with McCoy Tyner on piano,
Reggie Workman on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. Let’s get the preamble out of
the way first: these are relatively muddy sounding radio broadcasts that have
been floating among bootleg collectors for years. Another caveat up front is
that Acrobat Records’ quality control is not exactly stellar: the first disc of
the collection that I received turned out to be America’s #1 Hits of the
1950’s. Instead of going through all the hassle of returning it I just
downloaded disc one. Also the discs are so flimsy that you can see right
through them, although the remaining ones did seem to play adequately. While
the music may lack the wallop of the Village Vanguard recordings of the same
year, they are still quite interesting and worthy of checking out. The concerts
presented here took place on November 18 in Paris, November 20 in Copenhagen,
November 22 in Helsinki and November 23 in Stockholm. The setlists were fairly
similar from night to night, with wonderfully exploratory versions of “My Favorite
Things” each night, with the band, especially the leader, approaching the
familiar tune as a blank slate each evening, and building upon it in their own unique
way each time. It’s interesting to hear “Blue Train” each night as well,
without the trumpet and trombone that added to the somber feeling of the studio
version. Here the song is much more open, with room to breathe and the
musicians take full advantage of it. “Impressions” as always is a great
platform for the band to stretch out and Coltrane is a wonder on these versions
with his remarkably fast playing that is just extraordinary to behold. There is
an excellent and lengthy booklet that comes with the set with outstanding
pictures and essays. This set is recommended with reservations, the playing by
the band is first rate as can be imagined and the notes are great, but the
uneven sound and potential quality control issues make this set essential for
deep John Coltrane fans only. 
Send comments to: Tim.
