Having Fun With Jazz Records
I had fun with my records last night. I had about an hour and a half where I had nothing to do, nothing I wanted to read, and I decided I would just sit and listen to two records fully rapt, eyes closed, no distractions. But what to play? I just went to the shelves and the first record that caught my eye was Mating Call, Tadd Dameron and John Coltrane, Prestige 7070. Why Mating Call? I’m not sure. It’s not a record I’ve listened to often and it’s not on my regular play list. When I want to listen to Coltrane, there are other records that grab my eye. Perhaps I haven’t listened to Mating Call in 10 years, so I wanted to check it out again. And I did. What a great record. This is actually, I think, the first record on which Coltrane was the sole featured horn player. His playing is great, not nearly as adventurous as it would become, but far more confident than on Miles, Prestige 7014. He had either come a long way in the period between those recordings, or the format gave him more room to showcase his gifts. As for Tadd Dameron, Read more