Celebration!

Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe

ON THIS DAY of the 91st birthday of John Coltrane, we here recall one of the most outstanding collaborations of two artistic geniuses in history: Miles Davis and John Coltrane. In this memorable April 1959 session, the Davis Quintet (Davis, trumpet; Coltrane, tenor sax; Wynton Kelly, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums – they are joined briefly towards the end by a group of trombonists who are part of the brass section of an orchestra to perform with Davis on a separate date) is playing “So what” . Davis’s solo is sensuously crisp and achingly fragile, with every single note played literally justifying its being… This is sheer beauty. Coltrane takes over and it is fascinating how, in his intro, he acknowledges the delicacy of the mood already established by Davis but confronts the question posed by the title of the composition by pitching his stall on a different plane – with those unmistakable torrents of notes, his “sheets of sound”, that mark his signature. As he takes his break, the usually reticent Davis is seen swaying to the beat as his tenorist soars. Kelly reorders the tempo, once again, as he contributes to the debate on piano and of course the irrepressible Chambers on bass (who had just turned 24!) and drummer Cobb are all redefining the state of African American classical music at such a crucial epoch in US and world history. For an excellent book on the working relationship between Miles and Trane, I recommend Farrah Jasmine Griffin and Salim Washington, Clawing at the limits of cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and the greatest jazz collaboration ever (New York: St Martin’s & Thomas Dunn Books, 2008).

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