John Coltrane's Both Directions At Once 'like the opening of a time capsule'
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Such has been his influence, it’s almost impossible to imagine what it was like to hear John Coltrane in the 1960s, but the release of a lost album is certainly an invitation to try.
Both Directions at Once is like the opening of a time capsule that was sealed in the Hackensack studio of Rudy Van Gelder on March 6, 1963. A tape from that session went home to Queens with Coltrane and has remained untouched for the last five decades.
Coltrane is joined on the seven tracks by his classic quarter: McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. The group would record A Love Supreme two years later, and came out to the New Jersey studio during a stint at the Birdland.
There is a sense of a group playing for themselves on these tracks, as early as an audacious arco solo by Garrison on the first of two untitled originals (given here their track numbers: ‘11383’ and ‘11386’).
Or, to put it another way, you sense it’s closer to what they were like live, certainly compared to albums such as Ballads, or Duke Ellington and John Coltrane.
The familiar opening bars of ‘Nature Boy’ follow in a version that has a stripped-down sound, leaving Coltrane’s tight playing relatively unadorned — a sign of where he was to go as a performer, and, as such, an interesting stepping stone.
Later, on ‘Slow Blues’, piano is absent for long stretches, allowing Coltrane to roam widely across a groove. A treat for
Coltrane devotees is a rare recording of ‘Impressions’, a staple of his live sets at the time.
Another untitled original, ‘11386’, is perhaps the strongest track in terms of showing the group in full flow.
Elsewhere, a version of ‘Vilia’ from Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow is a swinging, foot-tapping charmer. It’s
almost like a backward glance, allowing the album to live up to its name.
Both Directions at Once is not just one for the Coltrane completists. It has a lively, impromptu feel, somewhere between a jam and a studio album. It’s not a carefully crafted masterpiece — no Blue Train — but is a fascinating record of a great artist in transition.
