John Coltrane, Maria Schneider, Suzan Veneman
Saturday 31st August, 14:00 – Past, Present & Future. John Coltrane leads a recording session for Blue Note Records in 1957: Blue Train. The record is quickly recognized as a masterpiece. We hear music from American composer and orchestra leader Maria Schneider that is far removed from the traditional ‘big band’ idiom. And Suzan Veneman (photo) is definitely ‘not an ordinary trumpet playing girl’.
Past
John Coltrane plays in the New York jazz club Five Spot Café in the second half of 1957. A long-term engagement. He is the frontman of the Thelonious Monk Quartet there. In that quartet: bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones – Coltrane’s bandmates from the Miles Davis quintet.
In the same period he makes his debut with Blue Note Records. Chambers and Jones are also present here – together with pianist Kenny Drew. A rhythm section to savor. Next to Coltrane are trombonist Curtis Fuller and the 19-year-old! trumpeter Lee Morgan. The result, the album Blue Train, makes history.
Blue Train, a composition by Coltrane, is indeed a blues. Relaxed tempo. Drummer Philly Joe Jones inserts a double time passage during each solo, which makes all the soloists feel nicely rushed.
Coltrane’s Moment’s Notice became a standard, but the composer himself never recorded it a second time. The tempo increases, not only the time, but also the harmonic tempo. Paul Chambers comes with his signature, a bowed bass solo.
The album Blue Train soon received wide and high appreciation. Coltrane’s career has since skyrocketed. Unfortunately for Blue Note Records, it remained his only album for the label.
Present
The now award-winning Maria Schneider (1960) is a composer and bandleader. The music of her orchestra – about twenty musicians – cannot be recognized as ‘big band jazz’. And ‘jazz’ is hardly applicable either.
Walking by Flashlight starts step by step, at a slow pace. Meditative, probably composed clarinet melody. The orchestra slowly comes forward. No groups, rather one soft mixed colour of a rich palette. Percussion is barely noticeable. The solo part is taken over by the piano, then the clarinet again. Atmosphere and melody character remain in the same form and mood. A gradual increase in sound intensity provides a short-lived climax, although that is too big a word here.
After this you will hear The Thompson Fields and A Potter’s Song. The three pieces are on Schneider’s album The Thompson Fields from 2014.
The title refers to a place in rural Minnesota, where she grew up.
Future
The line-up of Suzan Veneman’s sextet is unusual: four trumpets/fluegelhorns, bass, percussion. No chordal instrument. That almost naturally requires unusual composition work. And Suzan knows exactly how to do that.
Zinder is the title of Veneman’s second album (2024). And you can bet it’s going to be a blast. Trumpet/fluegelhorn: Suzan Veneman, Gidon Nunes Vaz, Alvaro Artime Jiménez, Kurt Weiss. Drums: Wouter Kühne. Bass: Tijs Klaassen.
The Future is Now!
Sunbathing
Waking & Working Big Heart –
Consolation
Past, Present & Future – Jaap van de Klomp
