Major Works of John Coltrane: Ascension 1 & 2 / Om / Kulu Se Mama / Selflessness
John Coltrane's twin bookends of spiritual outreach and fulfillment (A Love Supremefrom December of 1964, andMeditationsfrom November of 1965) represent the final incandescent emotional peak of his classic quartet, and by the end of '65, drummer Elvin Jones and pianist McCoy Tyner would leave the band, to be replaced by Rashied Ali, Alice Coltrane, and the young reed firebrand Pharoah Sanders, as the tenor saxophone giant ventured ever further into the uncharted realms of universal chant and freeform improvisation. In between were a slew of recordings that stretched the boundaries of form and content as far as the saxophonist's tenuous connections to the jazz tradition were concerned, but which rank among the most visceral, emotionally intense recordings since humans first walked erect--each an event unto itself. Herein are the collective polyphonic pandemonium ofAscension(Trane's response to Ornette Coleman'sFree Jazzand Albert Ayler'sNew York Eye and Ear Control), the psychedelic/mystical turmoil ofOm, and the Afrocentric constructs ofKulu Su Mama. Frenetic in execution, ritualistic in its collective focus, this music ranges from prayer-like declamations, to thermonuclear collective meltdowns that are not recommended for the faint of heart.--Chip Stern