John Coltrane Quintet With Eric Dolphy – Complete 1961 Copenhagen Concert

Without a doubt, saxophonist John Coltrane’s band after he left trumpeter Miles Davis in 1960 is one of the defining groups of jazz, and for the year or so during which multi- instrumentalist Eric Dolphy joined Coltrane on reeds, the band became a phrenic and frenetic powerhouse that shook jazz to its core. Between Dolphy’s piercingly distinct sound and Coltrane’s newly developed interest in Eastern modalities, as well as the driving force of one of the all-time great rhythm sections—pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and bassists Jimmy Garrison or Reggie Workman—this was a band to reckon with.

Recorded on November 20, 1961, mere weeks after the legendary Village Vanguard sessions that got critics’ dander up, this album finds the quintet at the Falkonercenter in Copenhagen, playing the first part of a sold-out two act bill (the second act was trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie’s band: what a concert!). Here, Workman is still holding down the bass chair, though Jimmy Garrison had likely won himself the spot for future iterations of the Coltrane band with his performance on “Chasin’ The Trane” back in New York. Previously made available on vinyl, but only just released in a complete CD form with announcements by presenter Norman Granz, this is a must-have for Coltrane or Dolphy completists.

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