Octet Plays Trane

Octet Plays Trane

ASIN: B00004RBZF

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
David Murray's octet has been one of his most successful outlets, emphasizing the tenor saxophonist's deep roots in all jazz traditions and combining ferocious swing with complex contrapuntal charts and explosive improvisation. Murray wrote the arrangements for this tribute and the repertoire touches on several points in John Coltrane's rapid musical evolution. "Lazy Bird" (from 1957's Blue Train) has roots in hard bop and "India"--from 1961--is an exotic mix of throbbing rhythm, flute, and bass clarinet. Murray bridges time brilliantly in "Giant Steps" and also places some special written demands on the band, orchestrating Coltrane's own legendary solo as a backdrop for the soloists. Unlike many saxophonists, Murray has never mimicked the Coltrane sound, opting for the grittier, sonic tradition of Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and Sonny Rollins while constructing his style on post-Coltrane models like Albert Ayler, Pharoah Sanders, and Archie Shepp. That contributes to the distinctiveness of the lyrical "Naima," his rough-hewn tenor beautifully set amidst James Spaulding's flute and D.D. Jackson's shimmering piano. Elsewhere, Murray's booting tenor drives adventurous, leaping phrasing, and he's just as effective on bass clarinet. Trombonist Craig Harris brings suave bluster, matchless diction, and surprising highs to his solos. There's also solid work from the rest of this new edition of the octet, including trumpeters Ravi Best and Rassul Siddik, bassist Jaribu Shahid, and drummer Mark Johnson. While the emphasis is on the best-known tunes, this music has its own strong personality, making it the most fitting kind of tribute to Coltrane. --Stuart Broomer

Tracks:

Giant Steps
Naima
The Crossing
India
Lazy Bird
A Love Supreme: Part I - Acknowledgement

Amazon.com

David Murray's octet has been one of his most successful outlets, emphasizing the tenor saxophonist's deep roots in all jazz traditions and combining ferocious swing with complex contrapuntal charts and explosive improvisation. Murray wrote the arrangements for this tribute and the repertoire touches on several points in John Coltrane's rapid musical evolution. "Lazy Bird" (from 1957's Blue Train) has roots in hard bop and "India"--from 1961--is an exotic mix of throbbing rhythm, flute, and bass clarinet. Murray bridges time brilliantly in "Giant Steps" and also places some special written demands on the band, orchestrating Coltrane's own legendary solo as a backdrop for the soloists. Unlike many saxophonists, Murray has never mimicked the Coltrane sound, opting for the grittier, sonic tradition of Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and Sonny Rollins while constructing his style on post-Coltrane models like Albert Ayler, Pharoah Sanders, and Archie Shepp. That contributes to the distinctiveness of the lyrical "Naima," his rough-hewn tenor beautifully set amidst James Spaulding's flute and D.D. Jackson's shimmering piano. Elsewhere, Murray's booting tenor drives adventurous, leaping phrasing, and he's just as effective on bass clarinet. Trombonist Craig Harris brings suave bluster, matchless diction, and surprising highs to his solos. There's also solid work from the rest of this new edition of the octet, including trumpeters Ravi Best and Rassul Siddik, bassist Jaribu Shahid, and drummer Mark Johnson. While the emphasis is on the best-known tunes, this music has its own strong personality, making it the most fitting kind of tribute to Coltrane. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

murray's creative power goes on!.......2001-11-27

To tell the truth,I had been thinking MURRAY could never create such a powerful music not less than his past masterpiece until listening to this disc. This is amazing! So I'm disappointed this great album was not appreciated as it should be in Japan. But INDIA is still on my heavy rotation MD(including David S.Ware, Don Byron, Sharon Shanon and so on).

"to the max".......2000-12-30

I am sorry to hear that the previous reviewer didn't much care for this cd. I, on the other hand, think this cd is excellent. Murray's new arrangements are creative, inventive, and they swing like mad! Also, this particular line-up of the octet has quickly become one of my favorites.

I know this will strike some as blasphemous but I think the Giant Steps on this cd is better than Coltrane's original version. While Giant Steps was a peak display of Coltrane's hard-bop virtuosity I never found it to be particularly moving. I would never place it in the Top 50 as far as Coltrane's emotionally expressive compositions/solo's are concerned. It was a display piece for his outrageous level of technical virtuosity, but it was little else. I was actually a bit disappointed that Murray chose this as one of the tunes for this cd... until I heard it, that is. This version kills! It swings like a monster and the orchestration and new arrangement are fantastic! The Murray Octet works magic on this tune, plain and simple.

As with Giant Steps, I was initially a little bummed that Naima was one of the tunes Murray chose for this cd... until I heard it, that is. I just wasn't sure if it was a tune that could be successfully re-worked. Well, as successfully as I thought other Coltrane tunes could be. While the Giant Steps on this cd really utilizes the whole band, Naima focuses mainly on David Murray himself. David is just a brilliant player and he emerses himself into the soul and emotional content of this tune as deeply as anyone possibly could. This is an absolutely stand-out track on this excellent cd.

If I continue on about each track on this cd I am afraid I may start to sound repetitive. Afterall, how many times should one review use the words "creative", "inventive", "deep", "expressive", "beautiful", etc...? A couple things I will say though are that I found the Love Supreme section to work well, unlike other reviewers. Yes, the bass-line is indeed the same bass-line as the opening of the original album. I don't find this to hint at a lack of creativity though. The bass-line is the most "signature" thing about that section of the original composition and it was maintained here as a focal point. Murray's playing kills on this section, and he also composed some new melodic elements for the rest of the band to play. A Love Supreme is one of the cornerstones of modern jazz composition and I found there to be many things to love about the version on this cd.

And yes, you very well may think that the India on this cd is an improvement on the Coltrane versions. Murray's addition of both Iranian and Indian musical elements are absolutely gorgeous.

If this had been my project I very well may have chosen other Coltrane compositions to re-work... maybe Lonnie's Lament, Syeeda's Song Flute, and Africa. But after hearing this cd I realize why Murray chose what he chose, because they are the perfect vehicles for Murray and his band. I second-guessed Murray before hearing this cd but after hearing it I realize he was right the whole time. This Octet is great, the whole band has what it takes.

Not as good as promised by other reviewers.......2000-12-19

After reading all the excellent reviews and reacting enthusiastically to a one-minute download of the track India with its enchanting flute solo, actually listening to this record was somewhat of a disappointment. However, knowing that some jazz music gains only after listing more than a few times, I will give it a few more honest tries. The highly promoted A Love Supreme interpretation I found particularly disappointing. Nothing beats the original here. I expected too much. But at least I got a good chance to discover David Murray.

Excellent.......2000-10-03

David Murray is without doubt one of the greatest saxophonists of his generation, and one of the best jazz musicians now playing. His recorded output is dizzying, to say the least, though recently it has also been a bit uneven. But "Octet Plays Train" is more than a return to form: it is one of the better recordings of his career, and one of the best jazz records of 2000.

The octet has always been one of Murray's most succesful groups, capable of playing with the sheer cacophonous, gutbucket energy of his big bands, but also with the kind of intimacy associated with his smaller units. It is one of the most fertile environments for Murray's experiments in solo and collective improvisations that can be as free as they are swinging. The early 80's octet recordings - "Home", "Murray's Steps", and especially the great "Ming" - are among Murray's best, and "Chasin the Train" comes close to their level.

Murray has acknowledged his interest in Coltrane's music in the past - note the title of the aforementioned "Murray's Steps", and his participation on the 1987 Coltrane tribute, "Blues for Coltrane", but that turns out to have been merely preparation for this compelling recording. The disc is really a meeting of the minds, with Murray offering fresh interpretations of such Coltrane classics as "Giant Steps", "Naima" and "A Love Supreme", as well as one tune of his own. Unlike others who cover Coltrane, Murray does not attempt to sound anything like him, nor do any of the other musicians sound like members of Coltrane's groups: they bring their own styles and sensibilities to the music, which makes the results that much stronger. Though the soloing can get wild and wooly - check out the collective improvising in the prologue to "A Love Supreme" -- there is less dissonance, and a fuller, more polished group sound than in some of the octet's early work. Perhaps this cd will be regarded as more accessible, and if that helps sales, then it's a fine thing, as this is an important recording that deserves to be heard.

(Note: For those looking for other recent interpretations of Coltrane's music, check out Conrad Herwig's excellent big band album: "The Latin Side of John Coltrane." And for something further out, look for Greg Bendian's bold recreation of "Interstellar Space".)

Hip chops and good arrangements overall--memorable tribute........2000-08-13

This was my first exposure to veteran saxophonist, David Murray. What attracted me was the "plays Trane" part of the title and the samples heard on Amazon. Any saxophonist who creates a tribute to Coltrane (d. 1967) had better be up for the gig. This is no place for the timid or the inept. It is sacred ground, musically speaking. Kenny Garrett pulled off an excellent tribute recording with "Pursuance" a few years ago, with no little help from guitarist Pat Metheny. (See my review on Amazon.)

Murray employs a near big band, the octet, which adds textures and shadings not found in the original pieces. The result is a mixture of success and failure, with the successes outweighing the failures. The favorable liner notes by legendary jazz-writer and social critic, Nat Hentoff, help set an appreciative and expectant mood. Hentoff wrote liner notes for Coltrane over thirty years ago. Before dilating on this musical event, here is the octet:

Murray plays tenor and bass clarinet. Craig Harris is on trombone. D.D. Jackson provides piano. Ravi Best and Rasul Siddik blow trumpet. James Spaulding is heard on alto sax and flute. Mark Johnson plays drums. Jaribu Shadid (formerly with saxophonist James Carter) is on bass.

Coltrane's "Giant Steps" energetically opens the recording. The original was bebop at the apex of its potential. Coltrane's spirited solo is a standard for this form of music. Appropriately enough, Murray creatively arranges the piece around the solo (as Hentoff point out), with all band members contributing elements of the solo as part of an ensemble sound that never gets too busy. At 13:37 minutes, it remains interesting throughout. Murray's tenor style is quite different than Coltrane--less sharp, deeper, and more guttural (in the good, saxaphone sense of that term). He brings his own sound and conception to the work, and does so admirably. I'll be imprecise and say he's got "hip chops," as Roland Kirk used to put it.

The more gentle "Naima" follows at 7:29 minutes. This is a showcase for Murray's tenor, with less space given to other band members. He begins gently and melodically and expands into a feverish (but fitting) pitch, utilizing circular breathing at one point (if I'm not mistaken).

"The Crossing" (10:28) is a Murray original composition and would have been better placed at the end of the recording, since it is stylistically very different from any of the Coltrane pieces. I hear some pop and funk elements, especially in the horn section. (Murray's background is very ecclectic, I read.) The piece takes off with Murray's bass clarinet section and solo. The man can wail on this intsrument! It invokes memories of Eric Dolphy, but is no mere imitation. Murray's tone and attack seem cleaner and stronger than Dolphy's. (But don't worry, Eric is still in a category by himself--forever.)

"India" (8:44) changes moods dramatically. It is influenced by Indian music and plays off a kind of drone. Johnson plays bare hand percussion (although this is not listed in the credits. Spaulding's flute work stands out as he crafts exotic moods to fit the ambiance of the song.

"Lazy Bird" (13:01) returns to the bebop grove and features intricate ensemble work and soloing fro all lead instruments as well as bass. It keeps moving throughout.

The recording goes out with the modal "A Love Supreme: Part 1--Acknowledgement (15:20). I must register a mild complaint here. Another reviewer on Amazon argued that this piece should be left alone and not interpreted by other artists. I almost agree. It was a deeply personal statement by Coltrane--a jazz prayer, really. (Read the original poem in "A Love Supreme" to discern Coltrane's theology and spirituality.) The original "A Love Supreme" is objectively excellent, and for that reason, it inspires others to record it (or parts of it, anyway). However, I don't think the piece leaves too much room for new conceptions by other artists. Kenny Garrett did justice to the "Pursuance" section of it in his recording of the same name.

However, the opening section of Murray's version is close to cacophonous; all the instruments state individual ideas with little cohension. The piano's hard dissonance is particularly jarring and out of place. That simply doesn't harmonize with the Coltrane's original opening to the piece, which is meditative, not raucous. The end of Murray's arrangement adds a whole new melodic line not found in the original. I do like the sound of it, but it seems to stray too far from the source.

The strengths of this recording are Murray's solos and overall conception in interpreting Coltrane's work for an octet, instead of a smaller group. Bravo! The weakness, besides what I mentioned above, is found particularly in the trombone solos. Harris tends to run out of ideas before his solos end. He also overuses a chop (to the point of being cloying) where he plays in the high register at a lower volume. It really grates on me. Maybe it will grow on me, but I doubt it.

Another small complaint is that Johnson's time-keeping is sometimes less energetic and creative than the material demands. I suppose it is not fair to have the ghost of the incomparable Elvin Jones (who played drums on several of the original Coltane originals covered here) hovering over the recording, but "the engine" room was not always up to speed, I'm afraid.

Despite a few dissapointing features, I think most Coltrane fans and lovers of straight-ahead acoustic jazz will enjoy and possibly rejoice over this recording. Congratulations, Mr. Murray and Company.

Douglas Groothuis

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