Sun Ship
| Sun Ship | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by John Coltrane | ||||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Recorded | August 26, 1965 | |||
| Genre | Avant-garde jazz | |||
| Length | 42:28 | |||
| Label | Impulse! | |||
| Producer | Bob Thiele, John Coltrane | |||
| John Coltrane chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [2] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [3] |
Sun Ship is a posthumously released jazz album recorded on August 26, 1965, by tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. Along with First Meditations, recorded a week later, it was one of the last recording dates for Coltrane's "Classic Quartet" with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones. Sun Ship consists of five independent tracks, unlike many of Coltrane's other works from this period (e.g. Ascension, First Meditations, Om, Meditations) that are suites or single large works. The up-tempo tracks ("Sun Ship" and "Amen") feature very aggressive, energetic solos from Coltrane that are reminiscent of the style of Albert Ayler and Pharoah Sanders in their extensive use of altissimo and multiphonics. In contrast, "Dearly Beloved" and "Attaining" are examples of the slower, out-of-tempo approach that Coltrane earlier used on "Alabama" (from Coltrane Live At Birdland) and "Psalm" (from A Love Supreme). Despite the slow tempo, these tracks display a much more serious and intense feel than traditional jazz ballads.
Sun Ship was one of the only albums John Coltrane's quartet recorded without sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder. By this time, Coltrane had begun to augment his usual quartet with additional musicians for both live dates and recording sessions, such as the June 28, 1965 Ascension date, for which Coltrane employed an 11-piece ensemble.Tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders was playing regularly with the band by September, 1965, and both McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones left the band in January, 1966.
Sun Ship: The Complete Session, a two-CD collection, was released much later.[4] On this release, "Amen" appears unaltered, and there are alternative takes of all five tracks, incomplete takes, and sections of some titles.[4]
Track listing
- "Sun Ship" – 6:12
- "Dearly Beloved" – 6:27
- "Amen" – 8:16
- "Attaining" – 11:26
- "Ascent" – 10:10
Personnel
- John Coltrane – tenor saxophone, leader (note that while the cover photo shows Coltrane playing soprano saxophone, he only plays tenor on this date)
- McCoy Tyner – piano
- Jimmy Garrison – bass
- Elvin Jones – drums
References
- ↑ Jurek, Thom "Review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
- ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 291. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ↑ Swenson, J. (Editor) (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 47. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- 1 2 Hale, James (February 2014) "Chasing an Illusive New Form". Down Beat. p. 84