Dig It?

by Red Garland

Product Description:

Full performer name: Red Garland Quintet With John Coltrane.

Red Garland Quintet: Red Garland (piano); John Coltrane (tenor saxophone); Donald Byrd (trumpet); George Joyner, Paul Chambers (bass); Arthur Taylor (drums).

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey on December 13, 1957 and February 2, 1958. Originally released on Prestige (7229). Includes liner notes by Joe Goldberg.

Digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie (Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California).

Pianist Red Garland is best known for his work in the 1950s with The Miles Davis Quintet, where he provided a rootsy foil for the trumpeter. But he was already established as a leader of trios and small groups. On this 1957 album for Prestige, the young John Coltrane and Donald Byrd, bassist George Joyner and drummer Arthur Taylor join Garland for a relaxed, fine set.

Charlie Parker's "Billie's Bounce" starts things off, and Coltrane impatiently burns through a few choruses, pushing bop's limits. On the uptempo, "Crazy Rhythm" (with Paul Chambers on bass), Garland's clear bop lines are both woody and ringing. "Lazy Mae" is an extended, late night, blues meditation; Garland explores melodic block chords, and Coltrane delightfully stretches the boundaries.