Crescent: on how to regard an old jazz album

If I had to put a time band around my years of Jazz fandom, I would pick 1991 through let's say 1999. After that, I spent a lot of time listening to Bob Dylan, and then just diversified.

But in 1991 I still remember buying a couple of contemporary Wynton Marsalis albums. He started one of his ambitous yet relatively soulless compendiums, this one being a 3 part album called Soul Gestures in Southern Blue. I liked it, and then bought some Miles Davis. I found some Coltrane.

Then came my years at the best radio station run by a university in Santa Cruz, KZSC. I spent 2 years there hosting an oft-moved show called the Jazz Hour. To a 3 hour sountrack of Jazz I tried to be funny and interview people of the world. And I discovered Freddie Hubbard.

Jazz was sort of like that, you kept stepping from one quartet to the next, usually following the knockout soloists. Kind of Blue is the best jazz album of all time, and look at the amazing folks who are playing on it.

Miles Davis – trumpet, band leader
Julian "Cannonball" Adderley – alto saxophone, except on "Blue in Green"
Paul Chambers – double bass
Jimmy Cobb – drums
John Coltrane – tenor saxophone
Bill Evans – piano (except "Freddie Freeloader") liner notes
Wynton Kelly – piano on "Freddie Freeloader"

So I often find myself pulling out and old album that I discovered 10-15 years ago and feel as though I'm catching up with someone I've known for a long time. This morning that's Crescent.

According to Wikipedia:

Crescent is a 1964 studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released by Impulse! as A-66. It features his jazz quartet group of McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones playing all original Coltrane compositions, with the leader playing tenor saxophone exclusively. It is commonly regarded as the saxophonist's darkest album. Only the brief, infectious medium-up "Bessie's Blues", and a samba-tinged groove in the midsection of the otherwise sedate "Wise One", break the sombre mood.