The Drum Thing

The John Coltrane Quartet recorded one of its greatest masterpieces, “Crescent,” 55 years today on April 27, 1964. The quartet’s drummer, Elvin Jones, is one of my greatest heroes, and it’s incredibly meaningful to me that I was able to use a picture of him on the cover of “Jazz from Detroit.”

Here’s what Jones once told Whitney Balliett of the New Yorker about working with Coltrane.

“It seemed that all my life was a preparation for that period. Right from the beginning to the last time we played together, it was something pure. The most impressive thing was a feeling of steady, collective learning. Every night when we hit the bandstand— no matter if we’d come 500 or 1,000 miles— the weariness dropped from us. It was one of the most beautiful things a man can experience. If there is anything like perfect harmony in human relationships, that band was close as you can come.”

Here’s “The Drum Thing,” the final track from “Crescent.”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzq_E4ozKLQ