John Coltrane: One Down, One Up Album Review

Live at the Half Note album John Coltrane and the Classic Quartet

Feb 4, 2009

Recorded at The Half Note for radio in 1965, these much talked about performances show a band that had reached an apex of experimental creativity and intuition.

By the end of the year this ‘Classic Quartet’ (Coltrane, Garrison, Tyner and Jones) would be no more, Coltrane moving further into the Avant-Garde than the other members cared (or perhaps dared) to go. Often bootlegged, these recordings (released on Impulse Records) achieved legendary status among Coltrane fans. After listening to the inspiration and fire with which these songs are performed it is easy to see why.

Live at the Half Note: Intensity of the John Coltrane Classic Quartet

The first performance starts amidst a Jimmy Garrison solo in “On Down, One Up” (according to Alan Grant’s radio announcement the song has already been in full flow for ten minutes), followed by a Coltrane solo that lasts for almost half an hour. This solo is perhaps the predominant reason for those many bootlegged copies, Coltrane playing with both extreme intensity and inventiveness.

While he does not use the atonality or high end screeching techniques that would feature (controversially) in future recordings, Coltrane explores every avenue of the instrument and the melody.. The interplay between Coltrane and drummer Elvin Jones in the duet that makes up the second half of the song has to be heard to be believed, Jones every bit as creative in driving and elevating the intent of the performance.

Live standard ‘Afro Blue’ follows in which McCoy Tyner’s piano dominates. His left hand constantly states the pulse of the piece with block chords while his soloing with his left hand is inspired. Unfortunately, after Coltrane joins back in and the band is reaching full flight the performance is cut short by Grant who announces the end of the broadcast (and tells us, in his most beatific tones, to “stay cool”).

My Favourite Things pre-'sheets of sound'

The second performance recorded a month or so after the first, is perhaps slightly inferior in terms of the intensity levels. ‘Song of Praise’ opens and is typical of the sound of the later-era quartet, Coltrane and Tyner again soloing and uniting with the rest of the band for an exhilarating twenty minutes. The familiar sound of Coltrane’s Soprano playing the melody of ‘My Favourite Things’ finishes the second performance.

After this the sound would become much more atonal, focusing on pure free-form improvisation and Coltrane’s ‘sheets of sound’ (eg. in The Olatunji Concert ‘My Favourite Things’ performance in which the melody is stated once in the half hour rendition). However, as the song reaches its climax the broadcast is again cut short.

It seems unfair to criticise this release in terms of the technical aspects (the cutting short of songs and the microphone cutting out a number of times during ‘One Down, One Up’) as this was inevitable after taking it from the original master tapes. The sound is more than acceptable given the circumstances, and the quality of the performances are excellent throughout.

While it may not be the best album in terms of providing a document of the classic quartet (Live at Birdland and the iconic A Love Supreme recorded in 1963 and 1964 respectively are more suitable), it is invaluable to Coltrane fans interested in this final period of transition before he moved away from this format altogether.

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