by Clifford Mosby

Hot Dog. That is a way I might attempt to describe the music of John Coltrane to many people who constantly challenge me to explain the music of Trane. Hot Dog.

I personally separate the music of John Coltrane into three segments: Phase one is what I call.

EARLY TRANE...this is the music from the start of his professional career through the Miles Davis years ...the Kind of Blue album April 1959.

Phase two is what I call.

FREIGHT TRANE.This is the music from The Giant Steps album of December 1959 to The New Wave In Jazz album of March of 1965.

..and the third phase is what I call ...

LATE TRANE.. This music extends from the Kulu Se Mama album of October 1965 to the end of his life; albums that include Ascension, Om, Expression and ultimately, Interstellar Space of February 1967.

The reason label Trane's early music and late music, Early Trane and Late Trane is evident. But the reason I call the middle phase "Freight Trane" is because that is the music that was the most enjoyable and meaningful to me. I was the "freight." That period of music carried me through everything. And still does. It is the period that includes My Favorite Things, Naima, Equinox, India and Africa, The Spiritual and The Promise and of course A Love Supreme. Damn. It was the period that not only featured many great musicians, but it was the period that Trane shared a siamese dream with his alter ego, Eric Dolphy. By the way, people always feel obligated to talk about Trane and Miles, as if they were the dynamic duo, but the real happening was Trane and Dolphy. Double Damn. It was this combination that gave me contrition, love, hope, happinesss and vision.

This is not to say that I do not like Early Trane. I have a better appreciation of Early Trane as I get older. I think the older I get the more I am relaxing with music in general and Early Trane is an excellent vehicle for beauty and inner peace. Round About Midnight, Like Someone In Love, all his stuff with Monk and later with Miles.

But the challenge comes when people constantly approach me and ask me to explain Late Trane. That is the period with Pharaoh Sanders and Archie Shepp. Most of those who challenge me to explain Trane's music have never settled with some very basic elements of improvisational jazz... and by no stretch of the imagination are they ready to even deal for a moment with the music on the Ascension album or The Expression album. Those are the albums where Trane might wail for the entire piece. One friend said that in this period of Trane's music, he sounded like horses trapped in a burning barn. Others describe his sound during this period simply as "noise".

There are certain compositions I like from the Late Trane era. Actually I like small pieces of all of them..and that brings me to the Hot Dog analogy that I mentioned at the outset. It is the Hot Dog analogy that I offer as the answer to all those who question and challenge Trane's music. Everybody likes a hot dog, but not necessarily all the ways you can flavor a hot dog. There is a Chilidog.but there is also the Sauer Kraut Dog. They are both hot dogs, but very different. And of course there is the mustard and onion dog or corndog on a stick someplace in between. You may like them all or like one way and not the other or maybe sometimes you are open for any type of hot dog.

And so it is with Trane. You don't have to like all the ways Trane can be served up, and you don't have to have a steady diet of Trane. Trust me, not all Trane is the same and there definitely is some Trane out there that is flavorful for you.

I found myself on the Freight Trane and I never got off. Don't want to!

When Trane was with Eric Dolphy, they were like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. This comparison is quite fitting in almost every respect. King and Malcolm had different approaches to the same subject, as did Trane and Dolphy.

To further this comparison; King was known for his uniting peacefulness that carried a powerful dynamic force and Malcolm was known for his igniting brashness and fury, that reflected deadly truth. In retrospect, their styles complimented eachother so much that historically they are united as one.

So it is with Trane, whose musical logic usually transformed into a religious experience and Dolphy's brash abstractions were ultimately a path towards re-configuring the imagination. In retrospect Trane and Dolphy seem to be an appendage of the other.

It was somewhat different when Trane teamed with Pharaoh Sanders. Both seemed to be on an expedition to explore the music and primarily for the sake of the exploration. Uncharted territory with no map. Not sure what it is that they were looking for and not sure what they would find.until, and if they found it.

Personally, I am not sure Trane or Pharaoh would say they found what they were looking for. The journey may have been more important than the destination.

Japanese samurai warriors have several credos, which can be applied to these musicians. The first is called "bunbu ichi". This translates into "pen and sword, in accord". This reflects the Trane-Dolphy alliance of being poetic while being cutting.

The other concept is "way-no way." This is the path between life and void. A path where what is and what is not are equal and comprise the whole. This is a difficult concept to verbalize, but when you listen to "late Trane" where the order is equal to the disorder, you are challenged to explore as Trane and Pharaoh did. I am not sure the music will result in "resolve", I am also not sure harmonics, as we have known in the past, were a part of "the way." But, as a renowned samurai warrior once said: "you must research this well." The music of Sun Ra best exemplifies how I perceive the music of "Late Trane"..way-no way. This phase of Trane's music is not easy for the uninitiated or those with a 4/4 mind.

HOW TO GET YOUR TRANE-ING
For those who don't know his music and don't know where to get started.

Trane's musical career dates back to the mid to late 40's to his death in 1967. He can be heard and purchased on recordings with everyone under the sun. His recordings extend through many transitions in music including the transition he created. He is noted for the time he played with Miles Davis and then later with his own group and then for his recordings with Pharoah Sanders.

Recently, I listened to a five hour piece on public radio, entitled "Tell Me How Long Trane's Been Gone". Five hours of quotes, sound bites, and analysis of Trane and his music. Personally, I found it great for my Trane appetite, but ultimately, what it boiled down to was five hours of quotes, sound bites and analysis of Trane's music. Five hours or five years of explanations and analysis will not result in you liking or appreciating the Selflessness album any better, if intuitively, it does not sound pleasing to your "inner space." Either you have given Trane a fair listening and you like him or you don't. No matter how intellectual the analysis and conversation about the music.

The trouble for the uninitiated is where to start. There is so much Trane and so much different Trane, that if you don't get on board at the right Trane stop for you, you may not have an enjoyable trip.

My friend Peter has a great appreciation for folk music. He had a long time exposure to a folk group called "The Weavers" and a tune they sang called Ole. It was not until he heard Trane's rendition of this tune, that his appreciation for the artist was heightened.

For those who are interested in getting started, I offer a Trane 101 starter kit: The My Favorite Things album. This album has everything to get started. Trane on Soprano. Trane on Tenor. Great interpretations of familiar tunes to include My Favorite Things, Every Time We say Goodbye, But Not For Me. And the standard Summertime.

Without a doubt this album is the quintessential, classic Trane and is often taken for granted by Trane intellectuals probably because it is so basic and simply because it was so commercially popular. Many Trane enthusiasts thrive on being esoteric and pride themselves on knowledge and appreciation of the obscure.they feel it makes them closer to Trane or closer to his music. Don't fear them and shy away from his music. Other Trane offerings are debated, but this album is as basic as bread is to a sandwich. Every Trane enthusiast has this album. Everyone who considers himself to be a serious jazz fan, already has this album, so it is a must album and you might as well go ahead and get it and get started. It is classic and will last forever.

If you find that you like this album and like Trane on Tenor, you can go to Miles Davis album, Some Day My Prince Will Come with attention to the tune entitled "TEO," or you can go to the Coltrane Sounds album and then on to Love Supreme album.

If your ear was kissed by the sound of Trane on soprano, Ole Coltrane or Coltrane Live at Birdland are good follow up recordings.

Keep in mind this is a starter kit. There are many, many, many, many recordings by Trane. But I know my friends and I know their jazz taste. My White friends are thrilled by Kenny what's his name, and my Black friends think heavy jazz is Grover Washington So it is with my understanding of these considerations that I offer the afore mentioned Trane 101 starter kit.

Trane's basic group varied slightly, but generally is thought to consist of McCoy Tyner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums, Jimmy Garrison on bass. Tyner and Jones later went on to have very distinguished careers their own and I am hoping that through your basic exposure with the starter kit, you will keep these names in mind as you explore jazz .

For those of you who are beyond the primer stage and have developed an insatiable appetite for the music of the Freight Trane period,here are several CD box sets of live recordings of Trane circa 1961-1963, each box set costing a little over $100.

First there is a four disc collection called "The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings". This was released on the Impulse label under number IMPD 4-232. It has numerous renditions of several tunes that had already become popular in earlier single album releases. There are four versions of "India", four versions of "The Spiritual", three versions of "Chasing the Trane" and Three of "Impressions". Two of "Miles Mode" and Two fo "Naima".

Pablo Recordings has just released a seven disc, CD box set entitled "Live Trane" "The European Tours" (7PACD 4433-2) This set has a compilation of several live tours in Europe between November 1961 and November 1963.

There are 5 versions of Impression...6 versions of "My Favorite Things" (Six!!!, count 'em, SIX!!) including one version with Eric Dolphy on flute (joy! oh, joy)...4 versions of Naima and 4 of Mr. P.C. Incidentally, there a version of "The Spiritual" where Trane starts out on tenor and winds up playing soprano in a blues mode..very very tasty for those who love this tune.."The Spiritual" is one of the few pieces where Trane plays both tenor and soprano on the same tune

Atlantic records released a seven disc box set entitled "Heavyweight Champion" (Atlantic R2-=71984) which has most all of Trane's recordings while with Atlantic, including the original My Favorite Things and there more versions of "Naima".

For those of you who have traveled into the "Late Trane" era, there is a 4 disc box set "Live In Japan" (Impulse GRD4-102 with a prolonged version of My Favorite Things recorded in Japan in July of 1966 With Trane and Pharoah Sanders...Trane and Sanders both play tenor and alto sax on this one.

Political correctness is a motherfucker. It stands in the way of communicating some really unique feelings. For instance, if someone asks you what was a really significant time in your life, the response should be "the day my child was born" or "the day I got married." I can dig it. I remember the day my child was born. There was a lot of drama around her birth. I remember the day and the conversations very very well. I also remember the day I got married, but to be honest, I do not reflect on it very often. Maybe I am a creep, but honestly, I don't often think about the day I got married, I don't sit around "diggin it."

For me, a really unique time in my life was November 1-5, 1961.

New York.

I sit around thinking about it a lot. "Diggin it." And the really crazy part about it, I was not even there! But a very very significant time for me in my life, none-the-less. November 1, 1961 was the opening night of Trane's appearance at the Village Vanguard. If ever there was a time that was absolutely perfect in musical history, this club date was certainly it and the Village Vanguard box set recordings with Trane and Dolphy take me there.

In my various essays here, I mention Eric Dolphy quite a bit. He is not heard on any of my starter kit recommendations. I am working you towards him. Eric Dolphy played a number of wind instruments to include Bass Clarinet, Flute and Alto Sax. I am going to create a web site devoted to him that I hope you will check back in a while to see what I have put together for "My Friend" Eric.

So remember the hot dog analogy.you don't have to like all Trane. Just deal with what is flavorful for you..

Trane.find out who else is on board, Dolphy, Tyner, Jones and Garrison may take you to an unscheduled destination. Find your own boxcar, relax, you can ride as freight.he will carry you.

Namaste

Clifford