Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy

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Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy
A photo of Coltrane and Dolphy performing
Live album by
John Coltrane
ReleasedJuly 14, 2023 (2023-07-14)
RecordedAugust 1961
VenueVillage Gate, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
GenreAvant-garde jazz[1][2][3]
Length79:51
LanguageEnglish
LabelImpulse!
John Coltrane chronology
A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle
(2021) 		Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy
(2023)

Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy is a live album recorded in 1961 featuring jazz musicians John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy, released on Impulse! Records in 2023.

Recording and release[edit]

By 1961, Coltrane had begun experimenting with modes and genre, moving towards the avant-garde sound that would be featured on records like Africa/Brass.[2] This period of experimentation proved highly controversial and Coltrane and collaborator Eric Dolphy faced criticism that their music during this period was "anti-jazz".[4] The recordings on this album are from a brief residency in mid-1961 that the duo had at the Village Gate and were recorded for posterity's sake by engineer Richard Alderson. They were rediscovered decades later in a New York Public Library collection.[2]

Critical reception[edit]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 91 out of 100 from four critic scores.[5]

In Financial Times, Mike Hobart gave this work 4 out of 5 stars, stating: "the set stands up well against Coltrane’s other live recordings of the time".[6] In Glide, Jim Hynes called this recording "seminal" and additionally praised the extensive liner notes.[1] Andrew Male of Mojo gave this release 4 out of 5 stars, praising several tracks, including the concluding recording of "Africa" as being like a "historic moment", and also notes the extensive liner notes from Ashley Kahn.[7] The New Yorker's Richard Brody praised all of the performers and connected Coltrane's musical evolution here with the 1964 recording of A Love Supreme; he sums up his review "the new release exemplifies, in its passionate strivings, the essence of jazz modernity and the spirit of the age".[8]

Editors at Pitchfork chose this as one of the Best New Reissues and critic Daniel Felsenthal scored it a 9.2 for being "a freeze-frame of jazz as it escapes the present and absconds to the future".[9] At Qobuz's music magazine, this was chosen as Album of the Week, with critic Fred Cisterna calling it a "masterpiece" and continues that "the instrumental balance on the unearthed tapes isn’t flawless, but that’s a quibble: the overall sound and room tone are good, and the music stuns".[10] Writing for Tidal, Brad Farberman called this period "an important stepping stone" toward Coltrane's A Love Supreme and Dolphy's Out to Lunch![3] Chris Pearson of The Times rated this release 4 out of 5 stars, writing that Coltrane and Dolphy were at artistic heights, but criticizes Reggie Workman's solo in "Africa".[11] In Under the Radar, Matthew Berlyant scored this album 8 out of 10, characterizing the release as "an absolute delight for those who want to hear these two colossuses of the saxophone".[12]

Editors at Stereogum run a monthly article on the state of jazz and the July 2023 edition included a retrospective on Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah and the intersection of African music with jazz forms. The article ends with a discussion of Coltrane's "Africa" and critic Phil Freeman calls this recording of the composition "an incredible mood piece".[13]

In a piece on jazz drumming for Paste, Geoffrey Himes called this the "most exciting jazz reissue of the year" and called special attention to Elvin Jones;[14] Himes also called this one of the most overlooked albums of 2023.[15] Editors at online retailer Qobuz included this on their list of the best jazz albums of 2023.[16] Graham Reid of The New Zealand Herald included this in his favorite albums of 2023.[17] David Weininger of The Boston Globe listed this among the nine best album reissues of 2023.[18] Editors at Mojo chose this for the second best reissue of 2023.[19]

Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy was nominated for Best Album Notes at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.[20]

Track listing[edit]

  1. "My Favorite Things" (Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers) – 15:45
  2. "When Lights Are Low" (Benny Carter) – 15:10
  3. "Impressions" (Coltrane) – 10:00
  4. "Greensleeves" (traditional) – 16:15
  5. "Africa" (Coltrane) – 22:41

Personnel[edit]

Technical personnel

Charts[edit]

Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy was commercially successful, debuting at No. 8 on Top Album Sales, No. 1 on Jazz Albums, No. 1 on Traditional Jazz Albums, No. 4 on Tastemaker Albums, No. 7 on Top Current Album Sales, No. 10 on Vinyl Albums, and No. 156 on Billboard 200 charts.[21]

Chart performance for Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy
Chart Peak
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 13
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 45
US Billboard 200[24] 156
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[25] 1

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Hynes, Jim (July 14, 2023). "Seminal Never-Before-Heard 1961 Recordings Released On 'Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy'". Glide Magazine. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Chinen, Nate (May 31, 2023). "John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy's fearless experiment sets a new album ablaze". Music News. Consider This. NPR. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Farberman, Brad (July 14, 2023). "Curator's Pick: John Coltrane/Eric Dolphy". Tidal. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  4. ^ DeMichael, Don (April 12, 1962). "John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy Answer the Jazz Critics". DownBeat. ISSN 0012-5768. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  5. ^ "Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy by John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy Reviews and Tracks – Metacritic". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  6. ^ Hobart, Mike (July 7, 2023). "John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy thrill in Evenings at the Village Gate — album review". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  7. ^ Male, Andrew (July 27, 2023). "John Coltrane With Eric Dolphy Evenings At The Village Gate Reviewed: Newly rediscovered sessions show a genius in transition". Mojo. ISSN 1351-0193. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  8. ^ Brody, Richard (July 18, 2023). "A Newly Discovered Realm of Accomplishment for John Coltrane". Culture Desk. The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. OCLC 320541675. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  9. ^ Falsenthal, Daniel (August 1, 2023). "John Coltrane: Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane With Eric Dolphy". Albums. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  10. ^ Cisterna, Fred (July 23, 2023). "Album of the Week: Coltrane and Dolphy". News. Qobuz. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  11. ^ Pearson, Chris (July 5, 2023). "John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy review—'lost' recording shows jazz greats at their most compelling". Album Review. The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  12. ^ Berlyant, Matthew (October 12, 2023). "John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy: Evenings at the Village Gate (Impulse!)". Music. Under the Radar. ISSN 1553-2305. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  13. ^ Freeman, Phil (July 24, 2023). "Chief Adjuah Puts Down The Horn". Ugly Beauty: The Month in Jazz. Stereogum. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  14. ^ Himes, Geoffrey (November 7, 2023). "Give the Jazz Drummers Their Due". Music > Features > Jazz. Paste. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  15. ^ Himes, Geoffrey (January 22, 2024). "The Curmudgeon: Overlooked Albums of 2023". Music > Features > The Curmudgeon. Paste. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  16. ^ "The Best Albums of 2023". Qobuz Magazine. Qobuz. December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  17. ^ Reid, Graham (December 17, 2023). "Bigger than the Beatles: Graham Reid's best albums of 2023". The Listener / Entertainment. New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  18. ^ Weininger, David; Hirsh, Marc; Munro, Stuart (December 21, 2023). "The Velvet Underground, Nirvana, Stax soul, and more: 9 great album reissues of 2023". The Boston Globe. ISSN 0743-1791. OCLC 66652431. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  19. ^ Mulvey, John (December 22, 2023). "The Best Reissues Of 2023". The Mojo List. Mojo. ISSN 1351-0193. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  20. ^ del Barco, Mandalit (November 10, 2023). "2024 Grammy award nominations led by SZA, Billie Eilish and Phoebe Bridgers". In the News. Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  21. ^ Caulfield, Keith (July 27, 2023). "Lost John Coltrane Live Album Debuts in Top 10 Across Multiple Billboard Charts". Billboard. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  22. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – John Coltrane & Eric Dolphy – Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – John Coltrane & Eric Dolphy – Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  24. ^ "John Coltrane Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  25. ^ "John Coltrane Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 25, 2023.

External links[edit]

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