Hard Driving Jazz (aka Coltrane Time)/Jazz Advance

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2 early Cecil Taylor sessions – back to back on one CD! The first 4 tracks are from the album Hard Drive – also known as Stereo Drive, and later issued as Coltrane Time (phew, that's confusing!) The record brings together two of the late 50s' most promising modernists – Cecil Taylor and John Coltrane – in a group that includes Kenny Dorham, Chuck Israels, and Louis Hayes. The music is a startling mix of styles – as Taylor's heavy piano clashes noisily with Trane's free flowing lines on the tenor. It doesn't always work, but it's well worth a listen, and stands as a critical meeting of two important talents that were both best known on their own. Tracks include "Shifting Down", "Double Clutching", and "Just Friends". Jazz Advantage of the best pre-1960 sessions by Cecil Taylor, recorded in Boston in 1956, and originally issued on the totally rare Transition label in a very small pressing! Taylor's playing here with the great bassist Buell Neidlinger, one of his prime compaitriots in the early days, and the trio (with Dennis Charles) is joined by Steve Lacy on a few tracks. The session's a great way to hear Taylor's development at the beginning, as it includes a number of jazz standards – like "Azure", "Sweet & Lovely", and "Bemsha Swing" – all given an off-kilter twist by Taylor and group.  © 1996-2024, Dusty Groove, Inc.