The first album to hit the shelves after
Giant Steps,
Coltrane Jazz was largely recorded in late 1959, although one of the eight songs ("Village Blues") was done in late 1960. On everything save the aforementioned "Village Blues,"
Coltrane used the
Miles Davis rhythm section of pianist
Wynton Kelly, bassist
Paul Chambers, and drummer
Jimmy Cobb. While not the groundbreaker that
Giant Steps was,
Coltrane Jazz was a good consolidation of his gains as he prepared to launch into his peak years of the 1960s. There are three standards aboard, but the group reaches their peak on
Coltrane's original material, particularly "Harmonique" with its melodic leaps and upper-register saxophone strains and the winding, slightly Eastern-flavored principal riffs of "Like Sonny," dedicated to
Sonny Rollins. The moody "Village Blues" features the lineup of
McCoy Tyner on piano,
Elvin Jones on drums, and
Steve Davis on bass; with the substitution of
Jimmy Garrison on bass, that personnel would play on
Coltrane's most influential and beloved 1960s albums. [Some reissues add four bonus tracks: alternate takes of "Like Sonny" and "I'll Wait and Pray" that were first issued on
Alternate Takes and alternate takes of "Like Sonny" and "Village Blues" that came out on the
Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings box.] ~ Richie Unterberger
