Review of John Coltrane : Bethlehem Years
This pair of discs represents three separate December 1957 recording sessions, two of which were originally issued with Art Blakey as the leader of the rollicking big band. Today, Coltrane's name supersedes even Blakey's in the jazz pantheon. The third session is a quintet with Blakey, Donald Byrd, Walter Bishop Jr., and Wendell Marshall, the core of the big band. Disc Two boasts fifteen unreleased alternate takes, including a wobbly, uncredited "Oasis," replete with studio chatter. These dates mark a transitional period for Coltrane, coming on the heels of his first Miles Davis Quintet stint and at the cusp of his brief but legendary tenure with Thelonious Monk. Not quite at the sheets-of-sound period in his career, Monk still plays with an appealing urgency and energy, setting him apart from his mates. Though he doesn't solo on every track, his is the most compelling voice to step out from the ensemble into the spotlight. One quibble: there are no soloist credits listed, though it's certainly clear when Trane steps up to the mic. This package is good for historical purposes, well recorded and well executed, but it's not particularly essential to Coltrane's oeuvre. --Willard Jenkins

Users's Reviews - John Coltrane : Quite a find - great CD
I'm a big Jazz and Coltrane fan, but had never heard of this CD. I stumbled upon it at the local record store, and after listening had to get it.

First of all, the title of the CD is a bit misleading; "The Bethlehem Sessions: Featuring John Coltrane" would probably be more apt. Although Coltrane is featured on many of the solos, he is really just a part of a larger band and the focus is not always on him. But what a band! The sound is fantastic on this CD, technically speaking, and the band are all in great form, playing as if they've been together for years. The sound is big band jazz which I don't particularly enjoy, but on this CD it works perfectly.
I have to say that I enjoy this CD immensely and will listen to it often in the future!

Your latest reviews - John Coltrane : Per Cyrus, Magnum Opus
I once knew a cat named Grant Cyrus, a Chicagoan displaced to Boulder, Colorado. Half Barbadian, half Sicilian. He was one of the most interesting people I had ever met. A stroke left him emotionally labile and behaviorally disinhibited, so hanging out with him tended to lead to trouble, but he was funny, educated, intelligent, and generous with his medications. All important qualities when you are young and impressionable. He nicknamed me The Flying Ninja Jew, which briefly stuck, and still remains one of my nicknames I most cherish, along with Libtush, Libstinks, Koala Bear, Murray from Chicago, Three-Card Monty, and, my personal favorite, The Legend (I wish I could tell you how I acquired that one but it is way off topic and the kind of thing Amazon tends to censor).

The reason I bring up his holiness, Grant Cyrus, is that he was the person who told me, when I first started building a jazz collection, "'Kind of Blue' is the Bible of Jazz, and Coltrane's `My Favorite Things' is its the national anthem." He did not stare me wrong (see also my review of Kind of Blue).

I love all Coltrane but My Favorite Things captures his quartet at a crucial turning point. Pre-1960 Coltrane is beautiful stuff as well, but with his classic quartet, featuring McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, and Steve Davis (no, not the same Milhouse-esque Steven Davis from fourth grade at Mark Twain elementary school), the intensity of the music goes up by an order of magnitude. I love "A Love Supreme," in fact it was the soundtrack to the births of both my daughters, but I think My Favorite Things is probably more accessible to fans new to Coltrane. I love the really far out stuff he was playing shortly before his death, but it would not be the music I would play for anyone who wasn't already a fan.

If you are looking for details of the individual songs, read these other reviews. They are for the most part well written and do a better job discussing the music than I can. I think hard-core jazz fans write the best reviews I've read. But if you don't want to delve into the details, then just listen to me, and listen to Grant, and buy this album. Listen to it till you get it, and then buy more Coltrane. If you are a beginner jazz collector, you really need to invest heavily in Coltrane and then broaden from there.