When looking at the sheer amount of work an artist the magnitude of John Coltrane left behind, it’s inevitable that many phenomenal albums will get lost in the shuffle. It’s not because they are bad, quite the contrary. This happens to any artist with an extensive catalog. Everyone knows ‘A Love Supreme’, ‘Blue Train’, ‘My Favorite Things’ and ‘Giant Steps’. As wonderful as those albums are, we have to remember that Coltrane recorded over 100 albums as a leader and as a sideman. That’s a lot of music.
There is a depth of musicality that many people really don’t appreciate fully when it comes to Coltrane. To fully appreciate and see the evolution of Coltrane’s playing through the years, you have to get familiar with his work. All of it. He didn’t just arrive at ‘A Love Supreme’. When you start listening to his older output, you can clearly hear the progression in his playing. The gradual shift from hard bop to a more adventurous, and even ethereal style of playing.
The beginning of the shift can be clearly heard on his album ‘Bahia‘, which was recorded in 1958. Bahia is a state in Brazil. Most of the slaves captured from West Africa by Europeans were sent to Brazil, almost 40% of them. Most of them were processed through Bahia. Culturally, Bahia still retains an amalgamation of many African cultures and traditions; from music, to deities, to food and Capoeira. The city of Salvador in Bahia in particular, has the highest percentage of Afro-Brazilians in all of Brazil. Most of the people in Salvador have African ancestry, and to be more precise, many of them have Yoruba ancestry. The Yoruba are one of the major ethnic groups in present day Nigeria. It should be noted that it was also around this time that Coltrane became a close friend to Babatunde Olatunji, a now equally legendary Yoruba Nigerian drummer. Coltrane dedicated his song “Tunji” on his Coltrane LP to him. The last live recording of Coltrane performing before he died, was at the Olatunji Center of African Culture in Harlem.
Bahia was the beginning of a more musically adventurous and globally conscious Coltrane. Plotting the timeline of Trane shows that the transition to full blown avant-garde and free jazz in his later years was at least a decade in the making. It was not spontaneous, like many people make it out to be. He didn’t just wake up one day deciding to play avant-garde.
Joining him on the Bahia session was Mr. PC himself, Paul Chambers on bass, Red Garland on piano, Jimmy Cobb and Art Taylor on drums, Wilbur Harden on flugelhorn and trumpet, and a very young Freddie Hubbard playing trumpet on the song, ‘Something I dreamed last night’. Hubbard was only 20 years old when they recorded this date.
Bahia might not be a popular Coltrane album, but it is still essential. It’s a synopsis of Trane about to open the floodgates of his deeply spiritual and ethereal playing of the future. The title track & ‘Goldsboro Express’ alone make it worth the cost of admission. It’s amazing!
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Al contemplar la ingente cantidad de obra que dejó tras de sí un artista de la magnitud de John Coltrane, es inevitable que muchos álbumes fenomenales se pierdan en el olvido. No es porque sean malos, al contrario. Esto le ocurre a cualquier artista con un catálogo extenso. Todo el mundo conoce "A Love Supreme", "Blue Train", "My Favorite Things" y "Giant Steps". Por maravillosos que sean esos discos, hay que recordar que Coltrane grabó más de 100 álbumes como líder y como sideman. Eso es mucha música.
Hay una profundidad de musicalidad que mucha gente no aprecia del todo cuando se trata de Coltrane. Para apreciar y ver la evolución de la forma de tocar de Coltrane a lo largo de los años, hay que familiarizarse con su obra. Toda su obra. No llegó solo a "A Love Supreme". Cuando se empieza a escuchar su producción más antigua, se percibe claramente la progresión de su forma de tocar. El cambio gradual del hard bop a un estilo más aventurero e incluso etéreo.
El comienzo de este cambio se percibe claramente en su álbum "Bahia", grabado en 1958. Bahía es un estado de Brasil. La mayoría de los esclavos capturados en África Occidental por los europeos fueron enviados a Brasil, casi el 40% de ellos. La mayoría pasaron por Bahía. Culturalmente, Bahía aún conserva una amalgama de muchas culturas y tradiciones africanas; desde la música, a las deidades, pasando por la comida y la capoeira. La ciudad de Salvador de Bahía, en particular, tiene el mayor porcentaje de afrobrasileños de todo Brasil. La mayoría de los habitantes de Salvador tienen ascendencia africana, y para ser más precisos, muchos de ellos tienen ascendencia yoruba. Los yoruba son uno de los principales grupos étnicos de la actual Nigeria. Cabe señalar que fue también por esta época cuando Coltrane se hizo amigo íntimo de Babatunde Olatunji, un batería nigeriano yoruba ahora igualmente legendario. Coltrane le dedicó su canción "Tunji" en su LP Coltrane. La última grabación en directo de Coltrane antes de morir fue en el Olatunji Center of African Culture de Harlem.
Bahia fue el comienzo de un Coltrane más aventurero musicalmente y con mayor conciencia global. Si trazamos la cronología de Trane, veremos que la transición a la vanguardia y el free jazz en sus últimos años se gestó durante al menos una década. No fue algo espontáneo, como muchos pretenden. No se levantó un día y decidió tocar música de vanguardia.
En la sesión de Bahia le acompañaban el propio Mr. PC, Paul Chambers al bajo, Red Garland al piano, Jimmy Cobb y Art Taylor a la batería, Wilbur Harden al fliscorno y la trompeta, y un jovencísimo Freddie Hubbard tocando la trompeta en la canción "Something I dreamed last night". Hubbard sólo tenía 20 años cuando grabaron esta fecha.
Puede que Bahia no sea un álbum popular de Coltrane, pero sigue siendo esencial. Es una sinopsis de Trane a punto de abrir las compuertas de su forma de tocar profundamente espiritual y etérea del futuro. Sólo por el tema que da título al disco y por "Goldsboro Express" ya merece la pena pagar la entrada. Es increíble.
1 - Bahia
2 - Goldsboro Express
3 - My Ideal
4 - I'm A Dreamer, Aren't We All
5 - Something I Dreamed Last Night
Credits:
John Coltrane — tenor saxophone
Wilbur Harden — flugelhorn, trumpet (tracks 3, 4)
Freddie Hubbard — trumpet (track 5)
Red Garland — piano (tracks 1, 3-5)
Paul Chambers — bass
Art Taylor — drums (track 1-2,5)
Jimmy Cobb — drums (tracks 3-4)
Recorded July 11, 1958 (#3-4)
December 26, 1958 (#1-2, 5)
Studio Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ
Genre Jazz, hard bop
Length 36:27
Label Prestige PRLP 7353
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