Meditations [Slimline]

Performer: John Coltrane
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: John Coltrane (tenor saxophone, percussion); Pharoah Sanders (tenor saxophone, tambourine, bells); McCoy Tyner (piano); Jimmy Garrison (acoustic bass); Elvin Jones, Rashied Ali (drums). Producer: Bob Thiele. Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on November 23, 1965. Includes original release liner notes by Nat Hentoff. Digitally remastered using 20-bit technology by Erick Labson (MCA Music Media Studios). Personnel: John Coltrane (tenor saxophone, percussion); Pharoah Sanders (tenor saxophone, percussion); McCoy Tyner (piano); Jimmy Garrison (bass instrument, double bass); Elvin Jones (drums, drum); Rashied Ali (drum). 1965 was a turning point in the life of John Coltrane. It was at this point that he crossed the line into the free jazz arena that he had been approaching since the early '60s. Besides his landmark ASCENSION, no better album illustrates this than the awe-inspiring MEDITATIONS. Coltrane's regular quartet with McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums) is expanded here with second drummer Rashied Ali (who would assume Jones' spot after this album) and saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. This conglomeration produces some dense textures, especially in the epic first track, "The Father and The Son and The Holy Ghost." This sonic hurricane is a 13-minute outpouring of spiritual emotion that is at once compelling and exhausting. Elsewhere, the group delicately follows Coltrane's lead on the passionate "Love" and swings with abandon on the raucous "Consequences" as Sanders and 'Trane battle like warriors above the churning rhythm section. Finally, the aptly titled "Serenity" is a swirling free-form improvisation gently touching back down to earth after an adventurous ride through the heavens.

The Wire (6/01, p.42) - "...The greatest session of Coltrane's career. It's a gospelised suite influenced by the mutant folk strains Albert Ayler was experimenting with..."

Through both the force of his music and his personal character, saxophonist John Coltrane remains among the most influential jazz artists of all time. After a stint with the classic Miles Davis band of the late 1950s, the tenor titan embarked on a decade of staggering creativity. With the daunting GIANT STEPS, he exploded the possibilities of post-bop harmony; subsequently, he formed his "classic quartet" with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones--the ideal group for Coltrane's ever-expanding sonic vocabulary. As the '60s progressed, he also added the soprano sax to the mix and explored the use of modes, before finally moving on to the inspired free playing on records such as ASCENSION and INTERSTELLAR SPACE in his last years.

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