John Coltrane (tenor sax), McCoy Tyner (piano), Steve Davis (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums). From the album Coltrane Plays the Blues (1962).
The blues affects me, the blues affects you, the blues affects us all. Who has not felt that sadness and melancholy when you are alone with yourself wondering what are you doing in this world? When do you have the feeling that nobody loves you? It's what you feel when your boyfriend or girlfriend has left you, when you try to animate the soul despite the calamities of life. The blues were sung by American slaves when they worked in the fields, but we also do it when we face ourselves.
Coltrane begins with a cheerful and jovial melody at a medium-high tempo. His phrases go through animated and determined courses. In the second chorus of his solo he continues with firm step and unstoppable resolution. The choruses are happening in the same way and chained to each other without losing intensity. Tireless, he continues his dissertation without being interrupted by anyone. Now he shares four-bar solos with the battery. Definitely, Coltrane was a monster.
© Atlantic Records