John Coltrane - Blue Train

The tenor sax giant had signed with another label when he embarked on this one-off date for Blue Note, an excursion that paid off with an enduring modern jazz masterpiece. Boasting volley after volley of smart soloing and intuitively swinging rhythm work, Blue Train is a joy, from the coolly precise ensemble entry on the opening title piece through the set's balance of elegant hard bop conversations and smooth downshifts into ballads. John Coltrane wrote four originals for the date, all of them now regarded as standards, and assembled a rhythm section including pianist Kenny Drew, Miles Davis's rhythm section of bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones, and trumpeter Lee Morgan and trombonist Curtis Fuller, both recent Blue Note recruits. Coltrane's signature sound, now fully developed but still hewing more to familiar blues and chromatic harmonies than his later modalities, is confident and expansive, and his partners respond vividly throughout. --Sam Sutherland

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Art Blakey - Mosaic

A list of Jazz Messengers alumni reads like a jazz Hall of Fame; Wynton Marsalis played With Art Blakey's group in 1980. In the Messengers' 35+ years of existence, this is arguably its finest incarnation and their most exciting album. Saxophonist Wayne Shorter, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, trombonist Curtis Fuller, and Pianist Cedar Walton provide both distinctive compositions and emotional solos. Since the group has three horns, the two who aren't soloing are playing as an ensemble in the background giving the group a small 'big band' feel. Drummer Art never takes a self-indulgent solo; he is a solid, consistent presence. What sets this collection apart from others is the music. Each selection stands alone as a superior piece of writing that has been covered many times since this release. This recording was made in 1963 just before the individuals set out on their own respective roads. - Review By Leonard Gorsky

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