We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. But the beauty of their interplay was tightly wound in the tension of two self-directed men with irrepressible appetites for innovation. There were precedents for composers using two bassists, but arguably no one before Coltrane had saddled one bassist with roving lead parts and another with a stationary, raga-inflected drone. It was recorded by an engineer without Coltrane's permission and the tape was eventually found in the New York Library of Performing Arts by a Bob Dylan archivist.

label, recording the defiant Africa/Brass and briefly augmenting his piano/bass/drums line-up of McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman and Elvin Jones with 34-year-old experimental multi-instrumentalist, Eric Dolphy. However, back in 1961 the duo’s elemental, modal playing was regarded by some as a step into nihilism and anarchy, an “anti-jazz”, in the contemporary words of Downbeat magazine’s Leonard Feather.The version bears no similarity to the original except for a several-second phrase during a breathless solo. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. In addition to some well-known Coltrane material (“My Favorite Things”, “Impressions”, “Greensleeves”), there is a breathtaking feature for Dolphy’s bass clarinet on “When Lights Are Low” and the only known non-studio recording of Coltrane’s composition “Africa”, from the Africa/Brass album. Scores of Coltrane heads weaned themselves on the impressive fidelity of “Live” at the Village Vanguard and 1964’s Live at Birdland, both of which were captured with extreme stereo know-how by Rudy Van Gelder. Is it because the unique atmosphere created by that era has the power to draw me in without saying yes or no?

Recorded with the same line-up as this album, it’s a euphoric, exploratory masterclass in what Coltrane was capable of in 1961.

He divided rhythm duties, writing static harmonies that pulsed through his piano lines, permitting more movement from drummers and bassists. Alderson placed his single mic near Elvin Jones, whose elastic drumming feels like a marvelous solo act. Another “new” album by John Coltrane, this recording was rediscovered in the New York Public Library, where it had been deposited in the late 1960s or early 70s. Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy was nominated for Best Album Notes at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. Compared to “My Favourite Things”, the less familiar “When the Lights Are Low” seems almost ordinary, but it contains some beautiful playing, including a superlative solo by Tyner.

This is Coltrane in a period of transition: he’d had significant success earlier in the year with his My Favourite Things album, and he’d experimented with a larger ensemble on the yet-to-be released Africa/Brass. The multi-reedist orchestrated large sections of Africa/Brass in May and June, and his solos took over the bandstand while he gigged with the band that summer and fall. He liked the composition because he could play it fast or slow, because it “renews itself according to the impulse you give it,” because it was a good place to start. The dog days of summer were in full swelter, and the venue had to lure listeners out of their homes and onto the sticky Village streets for dinner (bad service, but apparently tasty food!

This basement remained a venue, Le Poussin Rouge, after the Gate closed 30 years ago; the ground floor, naturally, has become a CVS. It’s unarguably the LP’s highlight with Workman providing a steady droning undertow and Davis dancing and weaving around the horns in the manner of some Yoruba trickster. In Financial Times, Mike Hobart gave this work 4 out of 5 stars, stating: "the set stands up well against Coltrane’s other live recordings of the time". Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy by John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy Reviews and Tracks – Metacritic". The other tracks too are fascinating though Africa is a bit too elongated and the two basses on the track are a little quiet due to microphone placement which is a pity.