The Africa/Brass Sessions, Volume 2
The Africa/Brass Sessions, Vol. 2 is a posthumous compilation album by American jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane, released in 1974 by Impulse Records. It compiles outtakes from the same 1961 sessions that produced his Africa/Brass album. "Song of the Underground Railroad" and "Greensleeves" were recorded on May 23, while "Africa" was recorded on June 4. On October 10, 1995, Impulse incorporated the tracks issued here into a two-disc set entitled The Complete Africa/Brass Sessions.
Background
After a successful series of albums for Atlantic Records, Coltrane signed to the developing, more jazz-oriented Impulse! Records. He assembled a 17-piece orchestra and started to record a series of sessions called Africa/Brass with musicians such as trumpeters Booker Little and Freddie Hubbard, trombonist Julian Priester, bassists Paul Chambers and Reggie Workman, reed player Eric Dolphy, pianist McCoy Tyner, and drummer Elvin Jones. The Africa/Brass Sessions, Volume 2 compiled music from the second installment of the sessions in 1961.[1]
Critical reception
In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau gave the album an "A" and said that of all Coltrane's posthumous albums, he stills listens to Africa Brass, Vol. II constantly.[2] In a retrospective review, Allmusic's Lindsay Planer gave it four out of five stars and praised Coltrane's command of his orchestra and his own playing: "The amazing virtuosity in Coltrane's solos had begun to show signs of the future direction his later avant-garde sides would take."[1]
Track listing
Side one
|
| 1. |
"Song of the Underground Railroad" | traditional |
6:44 |
| 2. |
"Greensleeves" | traditional |
10:53 |
Side two
|
| 1. |
"Africa" | John Coltrane |
16:08 |
Personnel
Musicians
Production
References
External links
