The Late Trane (Edition Records)
Denys Baptiste
Released June 16, 2017
Jazzwise Top 10 Releases of 2017
YouTube: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=MJQo-gM5B78&list=OLAK5uy_kvHl83ZoLV3kEfNjXERYvQzXRMK2uhy4Q
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4xIxYVsSgtRDfnkaoeXkUn?si=dLLf5FgQRm2BpsaLXoMoVA
About:
The Late Trane is the powerful and commanding new album from British saxophonist Denys Baptiste, a giant of the UK jazz scene. Reimagining and reworking ten carefully chosen composition from John Coltrane’s late music (from 1963 – 1967) with a fresh and modern new interpretation, The Late Trane perfectly balances Denys Baptiste’s unique artistic vision with the visceral emotions and cosmic references that encompasses Coltrane’s late music.
After almost two decades experience at the forefront of the British and European Jazz scene, Denys Baptiste still brims with the confidence of a youthful spirit. With a stellar band that fires on all cylinders and a new home at Edition Records, Denys’ career continues to grow and blossom. This is an album by an artist in total control of his vision, a bandleader flexing his muscles and a musician in his instrumental prime. The Late Trane will fulfil his potential at an international level and bring a new audience to one of the finest instrumentalists and composers on the UK scene – something of a sleeping giant in the last 3 decades, but a giant that is about to wake!
The later works of John Coltrane, preserved in both studio and enigmatic live recordings were some of the most emotional and spiritually charged music of the 20th Century. Written at a time of tumultuous change in America and the world: the civil rights and anti racism movement, the Vietnam war, the peace movement and space exploration inspired a great flow of creativity of which Coltrane was at the heart. As Denys explains: ‘John Coltrane continues to be one of my most important influences and his late period has always intrigued me and has stimulated my work over many years. To play this music, with these incredible musicians alongside me is hugely inspiring’.
During the mid to late 60’s, John Coltrane’s music was inspired as much by the spiritual as the cosmic and a series of ground-breaking studio albums marked the last phase of his musical odyssey. Crescent, Ascension, Interstellar Space, Meditations, Om and Sun Ship all exemplified this period of explosive creative growth, where the boundaries of jazz were shifted forever.
Denys has brought together an extraordinary band that illustrates the parallel journey musicians from London’s multi-cultural music scene have made in discovering and finally making their own the mythic, cultural work of the master sax player. From Jazz Warrior originals Steve Williamson and Gary Crosby, through Denys himself to a new generation typified by Nikki Yeoh, the band is a tribute to the inspiration gained from Coltrane’s work. Producer Jason Yarde adds another layer of deep knowledge and experience as a free jazz saxophonist who has himself explored the outer spaceways.
With The Late Trane, Denys Baptiste has made a bold statement, a defining marker of his future ambitions and a reverent acknowledgement of this remarkable man and the music that has undoubtedly been a vital influence in his own career. Yet Denys is very much his own man with his own vision, an artist with his own voice and his own sense of destiny. The Late Trane views the work of Coltrane through the prism of this experience, through the global sound of London. It is 50 years since John Coltrane departed from this world and there’s seems no better time to celebrate and pay tribute to one of the great musicians of the 20th Century.
Track Listing:
1. Dusk Dawn (John Coltrane) 5:44
2. Living Space (John Coltrane) 6:33
3. Ascent (John Coltrane) 6:15
4. Peace on Earth (John Coltrane) 5:46
5. Transition (John Coltrane) 8:42
6. Neptune (Denys Baptiste) 3:08
7. Vigil (John Coltrane) 8:57
8. Astral Trane (Denys Baptiste) 4:44
9. After the Rain (John Coltrane) 7:55
10. Dear Lord (John Coltrane) 2:58
Personnel:
Denys Baptiste: tenor and soprano saxophones
Nikki Yeoh: piano and keyboards (1-9)
Neil Charles: bass, electric bass (5-10)
Gary Crosby: bass (1-3, 6, 8)
Rod Youngs: drums, percussion (1-3, 5-9)
Jason Yarde: additional percussion and stray vocals (6)
Special Guest
Steve Williamson: tenor saxophone (6-8)
Recorded 18 – 20
January 2017, at The Premises, Studio A
Engineer: Neil Tollitt
Assistant Engineers: Jack Daley & Jonjo Keefe
Produced and Mixed by Jason Yarde
Mastered by Duncan Cowell
Album photography by Dave Stapleton except group photo of musicians by Kwame
Lestrade
Artwork Design by Darren Rumney
Executive Producer: Dave Stapleton
Review:
I was fortunate enough to see the saxophonist perform this tribute to Coltrane at last year’s London Jazz Festival, and it was a five star night. The studio recording more than consolidates what was presented on stage, crucially retaining the spontaneity as well as the precision of the playing, and, courtesy of producer Jason Yarde’s careful mix, a sense of the ‘heaviness’ Baptiste is shooting for with an expanded ensemble. That was very necessary given the subject matter, which is an interpretation of the final phase of Ohnedaruth’s career, when his pursuit of music that evoked the infinite as well as the primeval took him to the outer fringes of sonic convention. Baptiste manages to create similar density with the doubling of instruments such as bass and tenor sax – from stellar guest Steve Williamson, who sounds quite glorious, his broad roar marking a fine contrast with Baptiste’s piercing cry – while retaining an accessible touch that reflects his own Caribbean and black British heritage. The slides into rumba and drum’n’bass don’t so much lighten a bulky sound as nudge it in a more danceable direction that in turn reminds us that the putative divide between avant-garde and pop culture was never unbridgeable for Trane. Baptiste leads this ensemble with great maturity, giving a sense of measure and focus to his improvisations, really capturing the lyricism of the source material all the while bringing his personality to bear on it. 2005’s Let Freedom Ring, his tribute to Martin Luther King, served notice of Baptiste’s imagination, and this laterally courageous take on Coltrane also underlines ambition to match a substantial talent.
Kevin Le Gendre (Jazzwise)
