Sheets of sound
Sheets of sound was a term coined in 1958 by DownBeat magazine jazz critic Ira Gitler to describe the new, unique improvisational style of John Coltrane.[1][2] Gitler first used the term on the liner notes for Soultrane (1958).[3]
Style
Coltrane, a saxophonist, employed extremely dense improvisational yet patterned lines consisting of high speed arpeggios and scale patterns played in rapid succession: hundreds of notes running from the lowest to highest registers.[4] The lines are often faster than sixteenth notes, consisting of quintuplets, septuplets, etc., and can sound like glissandos.[5] Coltrane invented this style while playing with Thelonious Monk and developed it further when he returned to Miles Davis' group.[4][6]
Vertical approach
Coltrane used the "sheets of sound" lines to liquidise and loosen the strict chords, modes, and harmonies of hard bop, whilst still adhering to them (at this stage in his musical development).[7] Playing with the Miles Davis groups, in particular, gave Coltrane the free musical space in which to apply harmonic ideas to stacked chords and substitutions.[8] Further, this open approach allowed Coltrane to arpeggiate three chords simultaneously, a style Monk initially taught Coltrane. The "three-on-one chord approach" gave the music a fluid, sweeping sound that was harmonically vertical.[7] Concepts of vertical (chordal) versus horizontal (melody) are key ideas in the work of George Russell, whom Coltrane had recorded with in September 1958.[9] This approach reflected Coltrane's fascination with third relations. Sometimes he used diminished chords, other times he used augmented chords. At times, Coltrane might use scales or licks in the passing keys instead of arpeggios. Coltrane employed these harmonic ideas during his "sheets of sound" stage in 1958. At other times, he would simply play rapid patterns of diminished-scales.[10]
Usage
The "sheets of sound" approach can be heard as early as the 1957 collaboration with Monk in solos like the one on "Trinkle, Tinkle" from the album Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane.[4] Coltrane's live performance of "If I Were a Bell" with the Miles Davis sextet on September 9, 1958, well exemplifies his use of the "sheets of sound" during this stage of his career.[6] In "Trane on the Track", an article published on October 16, 1958 in DownBeat magazine, Coltrane spoke to Ira Gitler about the sheets of sound, telling him, "Now it is not a thing of beauty, and the only way it would be justified is if it becomes that. If I can't work it through, I will drop it."[2] Coltrane began using the style intermittently in 1959, preferring to incorporate it into his solos in a less abrupt manner.[6]
Selected recordings
- Blue Train (1958)
- John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio (1958)
- Milestones (1958)
- Soultrane (1958)
- Kind of Blue (1959)
- Giant Steps (1960)
- Bags & Trane (1961)
- Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane (1961)
- Miles & Monk at Newport (1964)
- '58 Miles Featuring Stella By Starlight (1974)
- Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (2005)
Notes
- ^ Hentoff, Nat (1960). "Liner notes for John Coltrane: Giant Steps (Deluxe Edition)". Rhino Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2002-08-17. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
While he was with Miles, Coltrane was tagged with the phrase "sheets of sound." Jazz critic Ira Gitler had first used it. These "sheets of sound" were multinote hailstorms of dense textures that sound like a simultaneous series of waterfalls. "His continuous flow of ideas without stopping really hit me," Gitler said. "It was almost superhuman. The amount of energy he was using could have powered a spaceship."
- ^ a b Gitler, Ira (1958-10-16). "'Trane On The Track". DownBeat. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
- ^ Porter 1999, p. 319.
- ^ a b c Porter 1999, p. 111.
- ^ Coltrane, John (1960-09-29). "Coltrane on Coltrane". DownBeat. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
- ^ a b c Porter 1999, pp. 132-134.
- ^ a b Coltrane 1960
- ^ Porter 1999, p. 160. Coltrane states; "In fact, due to the direct and free-flowing lines of his [Davis's] music, I found it easy to apply the harmonic ideas that I had. I could stack up chords-say, on a C7, I sometimes superimposed an Eb7, up to an F#7, [resolving] down to an F. That way I could play three chords on one..."
- ^ Porter 1999, p. 160.
- ^ Porter 1999, p. 161.
References
- Kahn, Ashley (2003) [2002]. A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album. Elvin Jones. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-200352-2.
- Lavezzoli, Peter (2006). The Dawn of Indian Music in the West. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8264-1815-5.
- Nisenson, Eric (1995). Ascension: John Coltrane and His Quest. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80644-4.
- Porter, Lewis (1999). John Coltrane: His Life and Music. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08643-X.
Further reading
- Baker, David (1990). The Jazz Style of John Coltrane: A Musical and Historical Perspective. Warner Bros Publications. ISBN 0-7692-3326-0.
- v
- t
- e
albums
- Mating Call (with Tadd Dameron)
- Tenor Conclave
- Coltrane
- Interplay
- Wheelin' & Dealin'
- John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio
- Soultrane
- Cattin' with Coltrane and Quinichette
- The Cats (with Tommy Flanagan and Kenny Burrell)
- Lush Life
- Settin' the Pace
- Standard Coltrane
- Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane
- Stardust
- Dakar
- The Believer
- Black Pearls
- Bahia
- The Last Trane
- Two Tenors
albums
- Blue Train
- Coltrane Time
albums
- Giant Steps
- Bags & Trane (with Milt Jackson)
- Coltrane Jazz
- My Favorite Things
- Olé Coltrane
- Coltrane Plays the Blues
- Coltrane's Sound
- The Avant-Garde
albums
- Africa/Brass
- Coltrane
- Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
- Ballads
- Impressions
- John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
- Crescent
- A Love Supreme
- The John Coltrane Quartet Plays
- Ascension
- Meditations
- Kulu Sé Mama
- Expression
- Om
- Cosmic Music (with Alice Coltrane)
- Selflessness: Featuring My Favorite Things
- Transition
- Sun Ship
- Infinity
- Interstellar Space
- The Africa/Brass Sessions, Volume 2
- First Meditations
- Dear Old Stockholm
- Stellar Regions
- Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album
- Blue World
Miles Davis
- Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet
- 'Round About Midnight
- Cookin'
- Relaxin'
- Milestones
- Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants
- Kind of Blue
- Jazz Track
- Workin'
- Steamin'
- Someday My Prince Will Come
- Miles & Monk at Newport
- Basic Miles
- At Newport 1958
- Jazz at the Plaza Vol. I
- 1958 Miles
- Miles Davis Quintet at Peacock Alley
Thelonious Monk
- "Live" at the Village Vanguard
- Live at Birdland
- New Thing at Newport
- Live at the Village Vanguard Again!
- Live in Seattle
- Live in Japan
- Afro Blue Impressions
- The Paris Concert
- The European Tour
- Live Trane: The European Tours
- Bye Bye Blackbird
- Newport '63
- The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings
- The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording
- Live at the Half Note: One Down, One Up
- Offering: Live at Temple University
- A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle
- Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy
- Alternate Takes
- The Best of John Coltrane
- The Classic Quartet: The Complete Impulse! Recordings
- Coltrane for Lovers
- The Coltrane Legacy
- The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis with John Coltrane
- The Prestige Recordings
- Countdown: The Savoy Sessions
- Dial Africa: The Savoy Sessions
- Feelin' Good
- Gold Coast
- The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings
- High Step
- The Major Works of John Coltrane
- Jupiter Variation
- Ken Burns Jazz: John Coltrane
- The Last Giant: Anthology
- Living Space
- To the Beat of a Different Drum
- Trane's Blues
- Trane's Modes
- "26-2"
- "Alabama"
- "Blue Train"
- "Central Park West"
- "Countdown"
- "Equinox"
- "Giant Steps"
- "Impressions"
- "Lazy Bird"
- "Moment's Notice"
- "Mr. P.C."
- "Naima"
- "Ogunde"
- The Church of Saint Coltrane
- The World According to John Coltrane
- Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary
- List of sessions
- Coltrane changes
- Sheets of sound
- Alice Coltrane (wife)
- Ravi Coltrane (son)
- Philadelphia house
- Dix Hills home
- 5893 Coltrane asteroid
- John W. Coltrane Cultural Society
- Tribute albums
- Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane