Search - Bob Berg :: Enter the Spirit

The jazz world was immersed in controversy in 1965 when the bands of John Coltrane and Archie Shepp appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival. Coltrane's own style was undergoing constant evolution, his lines more convoluted and explosive, his sound increasingly ranging to vocal cries and metallic abrasions. He had also become a figurehead of the "avant-garde" or "New Thing," an established star who provided a public forum for younger musicians and the creative ferment largely taking place out of public hearing. Here the Coltrane quartet turns in one of the finest live recordings of their signature "My Favorite Things," always a study in sustained tension with Coltrane's soprano keening over Elvin Jones's rhythmic undercurrents. "One Up, One Down," an intensely propulsive tenor performance, is emblematic of Coltrane's emphasis on shorter phrases and a concentrated expressionism. Shepp's set catches him at a creative peak, a gifted tenor saxophonist whose solos could invoke the breathy lyricism of Ben Webster or meld free-jazz exploration with some pointed rhythm & blues. He's joined by a brilliant band, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and bassist Barre Phillips complementing Shepp's passion with airy virtuosity and drummer Joe Chambers providing an elastic beat for the leader's creative rhythmic detail. --Stuart Broomer