The 1966 album "Live At The Village Vanguard Again!" is one of the few Coltrane albums that critics really like to pan for some reason. The album features only two songs which are "Naima" and "My Favorite Things", the latter which is actually two tracks because Jim Garrison's bass introduction went a little too long for the entire song to fit on the one side of the LP. Both of these have become staples of Coltrane's catolog. They appear on the "Giant Steps" and "My Favorite Things" albums. One would think that it is just a rehash of old Atlantic sides by looking at the back but by listening to it, the listener is proven wrong. This performance really is more of a free jazz performance and rarely do the performers stick even remotely close to the themes of the songs. Pharoah Sanders usually takes a lot of heat from the critics for his style of playing and it is an aquired taste and not for the strictly traditional jazz listener. He really cuts into both songs with his lenghty solos. Coltrane really playes passionately in this set as well. But be forwarned that one should not play this CD expecting versions of the songs that are closer to the album versions because it just does not happen on this CD. But if you are willing to listen to Coltrane's more expanded work (I recomend you pick up "Live at Birdland" and "A Love Supreme" first before purchasing this one) this is a worthy purchase. It is a wonderful recording and an essential piece from Coltrane's Impulse! recordings.

If you are new to Coltrane don't start here. This is a concert from late in his cut short career and it involves some improvisation that is "free form." There are only two songs and although they are two of Trane's most memorable the performance here strays very far from the original recordings. Pharoah Sanders, a disciple of Coltrane, is the other tenor featured and gets way out there before Coltrane returns a more melodic and recognizeable "Naima." This CD is best listenened to in private or over headphones as I don't know how many people through the years have asked me play something else. The solos can be chaotic(like life) but the energy and strength are inspiring and worth the listen. Like bass? There is a six minute introduction to "My Favorite Things" by Jimmy Garrison that sets up some of the most ferocious playing by Coltrane and Sanders that can be described as a search for the ultimate rendition. The use of no less than four wind instruments by the dueling tenors is intense. They alternate between alto sax and bass clarinet(Coltrane) and tenor sax and flute(Sanders) for some of the most astonishing improvisational work ever recorded. The limits are a bent, stretched and twisted multi-dimensional interpretation of a lyrical song that gets absorbed by the free form improvisation. It is a marathon jam session of remarkable endurance(can you endure listening?) that eventually is brought back to earth to a peaceful conlusion. As a historical musical document this is top notch but the actual performance is not his best live. The earlier Village Vanguard recordings are different and I believe better. This is for hard core Coltrane fans and others should try other CD's for an introduction, unless of course, you like and appreciate high energy improvisation. Check out some of my other Coltrane reviews for recomendations if you are new to Trane.

"Live at The Village Vanguard Again!" from 1966 finds the legendary John Coltrane returning to the famous Jazz club where he made his monumental live album five years earlier. Unlike the 1961 Vanguard release, "..Again!" finds Coltrane not only with a different group of players (bassist Jimmy Garrison being the only holdover) but stretching the music into extremely dissonant and exploritory realms. The addition of second saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders pushes the avant-garde envelope even further.
Despite the album containing only two tracks (and familiar Coltrane classics at that), they are performed in such a way that they become new and different pieces of music altogether. The first track, "Naima" (originally from 1960's "Giant Steps") begins with Coltrane stating the familiar melody before launching into a solo that begins to gravitate as far away from the piece's original structure as possible. Once Sanders takes over with his solo, it becomes an almost 'anything goes' free-for-all. Even when Coltrane returns to take the piece to its close, the mood has already taken a permanent switch from tender to turbulant.
"My Favorite Things" (which runs for 26-minutes here) opens with an astonishing six-minute bass solo from Jimmy Garrison. Here, Garrison explores the outer limits of his instruments using chordal strumming, harmonics and even diving into a Spanish-flamenco style melody. This leads into the piece proper with Coltrane's soprano saxophone out front. After Coltrane states the melody, the music once again shifts into free territory with Sanders performing a ferocious screaming tenor sax lead with embellishments from Coltrane on the flute and bass clarinet. When Coltrane returns to the soprano sax, both he and Sanders engage in a raging dueling sax conversation that almost sounds like a violent battle for center stage. When the main melody returns, Sanders backs Coltrane on the flute. In addition to the loose free spontaneoity heard throughout the piece, the rhythm section also stands out as drummer Rashied Ali's explosive drumming is enhanced by the percussion of Emmanuel Rahim giving the music an almost 'world' flavor.
Granted, "Live at the Village Vanguard Again!" is not for everyone. Most would probably want to stick with the classic 1961 recording instead of this one. However, it cannot be argued that "..Again!" contains some of Coltrane's most exploratory work and is perfectly in line with the other live releases from this period (the double-disc "Live In Seattle" and the epic four-disc set "Live in Japan") as well as his experimental studio work ("Ascension", "Meditations", "Kulu Se Mama" and his final studio sessions that would produce "Expression", "Stellar Regions" and "Interstellar Space"). If you have the ears for it, then this is definitely worth a listen.

Why is this an important album?

(1) It is by far the best live recording of Coltrane's band from 1966-7 - a poorly documented period.
(2) Coltrane plays beautifully on both tenor and soprano. Just incredible.
(3) One can clearly hear that his tenor sound developed - becoming even more lyrical and with more vibrato than previous years
(4) Coltrane plays flute and bass clarinet during My Fav Things. Note, the album doesn't credit him as playing flute - you don't need to listen hard to hear it soon after Saunders starts his solo. I am informed that the bass clarinet and flute he plays were Eric Dolphy's before he died.
(5) All members of the band very much suit his concept at this stage. (This is unlike Live in Seattle - while Tyner and Jones were incredible musicians, they weren't naturally free jazz players.)
(6) Jimmy Garrison was soon to leave the band (although appeared in studio recordings in 1967).

The frustrating thing about this, as noted by previous reviewers, is that it there is not more material - I am informed Coltrane played more.

Unmissable jazz. Ignore those who say this isn't essential!!!

Miss UK 1806

PS - For those who are thinking of supplementing their 1961 box set with this, beware - this is 'diametrically different'!!

This CD consists of two extended versions of songs that Coltrane recorded both in the studio and live frequently. Listeners familiar with the earlier versions will, however, be surprised. Naima, one of John's most beautiful themes, grows into an exploration of the possibilities of this tune by Coltrane and his fellow horn man, Pharoah Saunders - the result isn't always pretty, despite the inate lyricism of John's playing, but it does communicate - to those that give it the chance. My Favorite Things, which makes up the rest of the CD, has never been more removed from its stage musical origins. After a long and discursive introduction by Jimmy Garrison on bass, the horns, supported by the two percussionists and Alice Coltrane's solid comping, work out ever fiercer developments of the chords generated by the theme. Careful listening can leave you exhausted! If you've never heard Coltrane before - this isn't the starting place. If you know what he was about, then the rewards of this recording are immense.