Four For Trane

As you probably know, Four For Trane has four songs written by Coltrane, plus an Archie Shepp original with a hilarious title, Rufus (Swung, his face at last to the wind, then his neck snapped). He really breathes such life into the Coltrane tunes even though the needed no such thing on their own. Maybe that's why it's so fresh because he takes them an extra step further. Plus he and Roswell Rudd did some neat arranging and the playing is good in general.

Syeeda's Song Flute, from Giant Steps starts off the disk. Right away you know you're in for something different. To me, the playing sounds a bit more like Ornette Coleman than John Coltrane, this could be due to Charles Moffett on drums who played with Coleman for a while. But the theme is nicely arranged for tenor, alto, and trombone and I like the job they did. Shepp and Rudd solo, and though their lines are great (particularly Shepp's) both of their tones slip a bit (particularly Shepp's!) This shouldn't detract though, because Shepp and Rudd play Awesome! Mr Syms, from the Coltrane Plays The Blues album on Atlantic follows and has some more neat arranging. Everyone blends quite nice, considering the wide range of instruments and tones. We get to hear Alan Shorter (Wayne's almost unknown brother) solo on trumpet, and he's alright, kind of like a Donald Byrd who keeps trying to hit high notes. Cousin Mary, also from Giant Steps, is the third track, and really Smokes. Shepps playing is fantastic as is everyone elses. He really digs into those hoarse barks and screams that he's so famous for. His tone is nasty and mean and his lines really dig down deep. It's a treat to hear him move away from playing the Coltrane tunes like Coltrane (and never sound as good!!!) to a more original and pleasing sound. Shorter gets another solo in, and then we hear from John Tchicai on alto. His playing is different than Shepp's, and his tone reminds me more of an abstract version of Lou Donaldson. This is the best track on the cd.

Coltrane's "sacred ballad" is next. Pharoah Sanders took much heat for "ruining" it on Coltrane's Live at the Village Vanguard Again! and Shepps's version is much different, much of which comes from Rudd's unusual arrangment. The song takes an intersting twist when it seems to end, and then comes back sounding almost completely different! Shepp again plays down and bluesy. Rufus is the last song, and is quick and snappy (no pun intended). You can really see how the title fits. Special mention must be given to Reggie Workman's bass playing. I think he has progressed so much from his playing with Coltrane in the early 1960's to when this album was recorded in 1964. His tone and his lines both seem more formed and assure of themselves than they had in the past. He is a constant force throughout and Rudy Van Geldner did do a great job recording everyone, particulalry Workman.

Workman, and the 6 others a reason enough to get the album. Better too, before Impulse drops it because they need more time to print the latest Diana Krall cd. It's the real deal... fresh interpretation of Coltrane is always much better than substandard copying (and who can copy Coltrane and play it better??) If you're checking out this review because you have the album already and love it, why don't you also look into the Sam Rivers Boxset, issued on Mosaid Records. The last session is much in the same vein as this record and the arranging (done by Rivers) also hints at his flair for bigband that had yet to come. Both highly recommended!!

The best description of the music is probably that Shepp gives the Ornette Coleman treatment to Coltranes music. The players play through the themes (wich sounds very different from Coltrane due to the instrumentation) and then doesn't follow any strict chord-changes in the songs, instead following the mood and tempo
of the song-forms. Shepps playing here is brilliant; his tone isn't so big and dramatic (or as brutal)as it became on later albums, instead he focuses on raw, very bluesy, short, broken phrases with a saxophone sound not so different from the swing-players of the 30's like Ben Webster. If your'e interested in Shepps compositional talent this isn't the place to start but if you just want to hear him rip out one great solo after the other you probably can't find a better Shepp album!!! "Syeeda..." and "Rufus..." are the obvious highlights but everything else is really good too (Shepp and Tchicais solos in "Cousin Mary"!!!). The version of Syeeda... is even better than Coltranes original and features the best moment of the album:Shepp's and Rudd's collective improvisation during the latters solo.

One last note: If you like this album, try to find the records by the NYC5. They are not easily available but definitely worth looking for!!!

The album has renditions of four Coltrane compositions: "Syeeda's Song Flute", "Mr. Syms", "Cousin Mary" and "Naima". The first opens with a richly orchestrated introduction, which is then sharply contrasted against Shepp's tremulous, fractured delivery. Roswell Rudd offers pointed comments in the background and follows with a similarly abstract solo. The trombone had clearly evolved into unrecognisable territory since the days of J.J. Johnson and Kay Winding!

The first bars of "Mr. Syms" almost presage a dark landscape, but Shepp's arrangement is lithe and subtly textured, bringing out the passion in the composition with an understated eloquence. Alan Shorter, older brother of Wayne, contributes a remarkably impressionistic solo, setting the tone for Archie's equally poetic statement. Pity that Alan Shorter's remaining discography is so thin.

Four For Trane is a mysterious album: it is an avant-garde tribute to a living master who had yet to record his most significant avant-garde albums, A Love Supreme (1964), Ascension (1965) and Interstellar Space (1967), all on the same label as Shepp's. Trane himself appears in a contrived portrait on the cover, on which Shepp stares ahead pensively with pipe in mouth.

"Naima" is arguably the most compelling piece on the album - possibly Coltrane's most played "standard", it is magically arranged by Roswell Rudd, comparable to a tone-poem of Ellingtonian profundity. The solos are breezy and almost nebulous in their commitment to non-definition. The performance reveals both a veneration for Coltrane's compositional austerity and formal beauty, and at the same time a bleak conception of emotion far removed from Coltrane's burning urgency.

This fascinating record, a work of clarity and elegance amid the frenzy of the "New Thing", ends enigmatically with a Shepp composition whose title reveals a bizarre humour: "Rufus (Swung, his face to at last to the wind, then his neck snapped)".