[Harp-L] Coltrane and Ballads

[aeskow@xxxxxxx]

Lost in the to-and-fro--and perhaps even the hither-and-thither--about A Love Supreme (before whose altar I, personally, worship) is a whole other aspect of Coltrane's playing that I find too often neglected--and in the long run perhaps of equal or greater use to most harp players, and that is his insanely delicate and heartfelt way with a ballad.  On my own desert island compilation of discs I'd be sure to include the Ballads album he did with Johnny Hartman, whose voice may be an acquired taste (I think it's what the adjective "plummy" was invented for) but which I dig a lot.  Just hearing the way Coltrane cuts to the heart of each melody with a samurai grace is a master class in soul.  It's as if, having plumbed the depths of the cosmos via his sax and his dope, he returned to some timeless simplicities and was able to evoke them with brushstrokes of perfect grace.
 
Peace and Respect,
Johnny T