Paris 1961. We have to give up on this idea that Coltrane is an angry young man. He is a timid poet.
When Coltrane first came to France in 1960 with Miles Davis, French audiences were expecting sweet and romantic solos from Coltrane, but they got broken notes, tortured arpeggios and aggravated variations instead. The stubborn stammering of someone unable to master his instrument. So says the French Jazz Magazine from January 1962 in an eight page Coltrane special, including a two page poster. He also got the front page and a full page ad placed for Africa/Brass. The editorial is spread across three writers, the first appears to be an interview after a French performance. In this section Coltrane describes, for example, his difficulties in finding suitable reeds. They take a month to be perfect then only operate for a couple of days in peak condition. It also describes his introspective personality, for example him not wanting to eat in a restaurant, preferring to buy two apples and eat alone in his hotel room. The article below, mainly a review of the Paris concerts, was written by Mi