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 Michel Poulain, annotated and translated from the French by myself. The two concerts on November 18th 1961 were at 6.30pm and 11.30pm, and were part of the 1961 JATP tour of Europe with Dizzy Gillespie headlining.

******************************

Paris had an encounter with John Coltrane for the second time. The first time was on March 21st 1960 with Miles Davis which had been keenly anticipated by the French Jazz loving public. But one young man at that L’Olympia Paris concert angrily shouted “Miles !”, followed by others whistling loudly during Trane’s soloing. They did so because they felt he went too far. Since then they have bought his records, but would still be ready to whistle again. This time, Coltrane went even further than they expected. John Coltrane, full of success, confident and now independent of Miles Davis had no intention of taming his music.

He returned with his quartet and a guest, Eric Dolphy. The participation of Dolphy was decided at the end of an evening in New York when Eric had played with the quartet. Dolphy had come to France for the third time, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner and Reggie Workman were only known to us on records.

The first concert on November 18th at L’Olympia had the jazz veteran audience of 1960, but the veterans had gone to bed early, so by midnight there were no protesters in the audience.

Dizzy Gilespie on this JATP tour was the closing act and decided to focus his set on the theme of “A great trip we made to South America”. This programme allowed us to hear some great swing improvisations from Leo Wright (as & fl), and from Lalo Schifrin, the excellent Argentinian pianist responsible for many of the compositions.

Coltrane’s programme testified to the increasing importance of this artist’s daring, both soloing and in ensemble. Some were still taken aback by his expressivity at the concert, which was even more ardent than on his records. Coltrane is aware of the difference, which is probably a result of his rapid evolution. Trane knows the change he has undergone in a year, whether it’s during Blue Train or the thirty five minutes of My Favorite Things.

The shock of Coltrane at L’Olympia is not about superficial violence or debauchery in music. On the contrary, it’s about passion and faith. It is built on a logical musical process where the interpreter is not doing anything mysterious. “I cannot speak on behalf of Eric’s musical approach, I don’t know his theories. But for my part, I function on the usual jazz principles, but sometimes transgress them. For each piece I adopt a normal pattern. For example in My Favorite Things, it is in a major mode with a short variation “vamp” in a minor mode. In my first solo I play according to the melody which everyone can easily follow, then for the second solo it is more ad-lib”.

Coltrane remains worried. “Tenor or soprano ? Practising on the soprano’s mouthpiece risks me losing my tenor embouchure. Since the soprano is becoming more and more important for me, I might have to one day choose between the two instruments”.

Eric Dolphy doesn’t seem to have evolved much since his first visit with Charles Mingus; and his performances are not nearly as striking as Trane’s, he disappears somewhat behind Trane and the other musicians. However, his role is certainly not negligible and his flute during My Favorite Things is a thing of rare beauty.

Elvin Jones was a revelation at the concerts. We recently criticised him for being too noisy, but here he was a drummer of finesse and quiet. His ability to play in 6/8 or 4/5 and create complex patterns was amazing. Certainly he uses some clichés (and admits to it), but his power is undeniable, as is his sensitivity and intelligence.

In McCoy Tyner, Coltrane has found the ideal young pianist. He is responsible for much of the swing that drives the rhythm section. The block chords he uses, like Bobby Timmons, have the effect of “turning up the sauce”. Reginald Workman’s sound was not so powerful, but he responded at all times to the needs of the band.

At the end of the midnight concert with all the cheers and positive crowd response, Coltrane probably forgot the bitterness he had experienced during his last time in Paris. Between the two concerts at L’Olympia, Trane had refused any company and had gone back to his hotel. It was the same afterwards. His only company was his new guitar – “Yes, I just bought this guitar, just for its feel and presence. I don’t play it but I do like the attraction of its personality”.

We have to give up on this idea that Coltrane is an angry young man. He is a timid poet.