Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy cover

Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy

Recorded
Released

From August 8 to September 3, 1961, John Coltrane had a residency going at the Village Gate, a club in lower Manhattan. It’s not known which nights these tapes were made, but the band includes Eric Dolphy on alto sax, bass clarinet, and flute; McCoy Tyner on piano; Reggie Workman on bass; and Elvin Jones on drums, plus second bassist Art Davis on an epic version of “Africa,” the only known live recording of the opening track from 1962’s Africa/Brass. The music was recorded with a single microphone hanging from the club’s ceiling, running to a tape deck backstage, so you get a kind of ambient, holistic sound that tends to prioritize the horns and the drums. Tyner’s piano is very quiet in the mix, and Workman’s audible but often more of a low bounce than the force he could be. On “Africa,” though, he and Davis get some dual spotlight time that’s extraordinarily beautiful, and the way Coltrane and Dolphy play as a duo, each man spurring the other on, is phenomenal.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Real Enemies cover

Real Enemies

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society
Schlager cover

Schlager

Arno Steffen
Treasure Island cover

Treasure Island

Keith Jarrett
Continuation cover

Continuation

Collocutor
Funky Donkey, Vols. 1 & 2 cover

Funky Donkey, Vols. 1 & 2

Luther Thomas, Saint Louis Creative Ensemble, Human Arts Ensemble
Canyon Lady cover

Canyon Lady

Joe Henderson
Hear You Say cover

Hear You Say

Ray Anderson, Marty Ehrlich
One Hopeful Day cover

One Hopeful Day

Bill Stewart, John Abercrombie, Mark Soskin, John Patitucci, Chris Potter
Chicago Overtones cover

Chicago Overtones

Kent Kessler, Robert Barry, Daniele D'Agaro, Jeb Bishop