JOHN COLTRANE "Expression" LP Gatefold VG+/VG+ 1967 Club Edition ORANGE Label

$

26

AllMusic Review by Fred Thomas  [-]

Recorded at two sessions in early 1967, Expression represents John Coltrane's final recording sessions just months before his death. A varied and searching record, Coltrane shares space with fellow universal travelers Pharoah Sanders, Jimmy Garrison, Rashied Ali, and wife Alice Coltrane. This band, working hard during the time leading up to Coltrane's demise, was performing in the most spiritually reaching territory Coltrane would aspire to. This is evidenced by the burning tenor/drum duet section of "Offering," perhaps the highlight of these sessions. Coltrane and Ali spiral into the far reaches here with a boundless energy that somehow remains controlled and restrained even in its rawest moments. The group succeeds in lifting the piece up to its highest peak and then setting it back down in a way so organic it feels almost ordained by a mass mind. The track, like all Coltrane at his best, becomes a guided meditation. The 16-minute vamp of "To Be" is perhaps the most quizzical and interesting piece here, finding Trane on flute, an instrument that he never gave much air time to on previous sessions. Coltrane trades gentle, lilting runs with Sanders' sometimes distant, sometimes atonal piccolo flute, stretching out into discordant waters somewhere in the middle of this lingering piece. Bedded by Alice Coltrane's brightly mystical piano clouds, the track would sound more at home on one of her solo albums than her husband's, but denotes their mingling inspirations. At the time these sessions were put to tape, Coltrane had been silently suffering from undiagnosed liver cancer for some while. His death was a shock to many in the jazz community who had no idea he was even sick, let alone nearing the end. It's remarkable that Expression is not some world-weary harbinger of death and sickness, but an endlessly jubilant affair. Even in what must have been a time of tremendous pain and darkness, Coltrane's single-minded quest for understanding and transcendence took him to places of new exploration and light. [Some issues of Expression include final track "Number One," a nearly 12-minute surge of raw, rolling interplay between Coltrane's tenor and Sanders' upper-register woodwinds.]

John Coltrane ?– Expression

Label:

Impulse! ?– 91288, Impulse! ?– SMAS 91288, Impulse! ?– SMAS-91288

Format:

Vinyl, LP, Album, Club Edition, Stereo, Gatefold

Country:

US

Released:

1967

Genre:

Jazz

Style:

Free Jazz, Free Improvisation, Post Bop, Modal

TracklistHide Credits

A1 Ogunde

Bass – Jimmy Garrison

Drums – Rashied Ali

Piano – Alice Coltrane

Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane

3:34

A2 To Be

Bass – Jimmy Garrison

Drums – Rashied Ali

Flute – John Coltrane

Piano – Alice Coltrane

Piccolo Flute – Pharoah Sanders

16:18

B1 Offering

Bass – Jimmy Garrison

Drums – Rashied Ali

Piano – Alice Coltrane

Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane

8:21

B2 Expression

Bass – Jimmy Garrison

Drums – Rashied Ali

Piano – Alice Coltrane

Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane

10:46

Companies, etc.

Record Company – ABC Records, Inc.

Record Company – Capitol Record Club – SMAS-91288

Manufactured By – Capitol Records, Inc.

Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Jacksonville

Published By – Jowcol Music

Credits

Artwork [Cover Painting] – Victor Kalin

Design [Cover] – Robert Flynn (2), Viceroy (2)

Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder

Liner Notes, Photography By [Inside Gatefold] – Nat Hentoff

Photography By [Inside Gatefold] – Bob Ghirildini*, Charles H. Stewart*, Jim Marshall (3), Joe Alper, Katsuji Abe

Producer – Bob Thiele

Producer, Composed By – John Coltrane

Notes

Capitol Record Club edition (version #2)

Gatefold sleeve, red & black labels

First cat' #: 91288 appears on sleeve only.

Second cat. # SMAS 91288 appears on back sleeve only.

Third cat. # SMAS-91288 appears on labels only

GOLDMINE GRADING

MINT ---- It should appear to be perfect. No scuffs or scratches, blotches or stains, labels or writing, tears or splits. Mint means perfect.

NEAR MINT ---- Otherwise mint but has one or two tiny inconsequential flaws that do not affect play. Covers should be close to perfect with minor signs of wear or age just becoming evident: slight ring-wear, minor denting to a corner, or writing on the cover should all be noted properly.

VERY GOOD PLUS ---- The record has been handled and played infrequently or very carefully. Not too far from perfect. On a disc, there may be light paper scuffs from sliding in and out of a sleeve or the vinyl or some of the original luster may be lost. A slight scratch that did not affect play would be acceptably VG+ for most collectors.

VERY GOOD ---- Record displays visible signs of handling and playing, such as loss of vinyl luster, light surface scratches, groove wear and spindle trails. Some audible surface noise, but should not overwhelm the musical experience. Usually a cover is VG when one or two of these problems are evident: ring wear, seam splits, bent corners, loss of gloss, stains, etc.

GOOD ---- Well played with little luster and significant surface noise. Despite defects, record should still play all the way through without skipping. Several cover flaws will be apparent, but should not obliterate the artwork.

POOR ---- Any record or cover that does not qualify for the above "Good" grading should be seen as Poor. Several cover flaws.