Description
For devotees of John Coltrane, whose adoration of the late, path-finding saxophonist borders on the religious, 2018 has proved to be a year of celebration. The crux of this celebratory era being the materialization of an unexpected and thrilling treasure, finally unburied: a never-before-released session featuring Coltrane in the full flush of his solo fame, with his “classic quartet” of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. ‘Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album’, first recorded on the 6th of March 1963, eavesdrops on a day in the short life of one of modern music’s giants in a period of turmoil. Coltrane is audibly striving to release himself from the shackles of traditional song structures here, despite still being drawn to their improvisation challenges, and simultaneously pursuing a more open, free-floating sound beyond song shapes and chords.
