Archie Shepp's Tribute to John Coltrane
When one saxophone legend honors another, you know that jazz history is being written before your very eyes
When one saxophone legend honors another, you know that jazz history is being written before your very eyes.
81-year-old jazz legend Archie Shepp's ties to John Coltrane go back to the beginning of his own career, when Coltrane worked with pianist Thelonious Monk. Shepp used to go and hear him play every night at the Five Spot in Philadelphia and remembers admiring everything about "Trane": "His discipline, his love and passion for music. He had everything," according to Shepp.
Exclusively for the Kongsberg Jazz Festival, Shepp will pay tribute to the greatest saxophonist and style creator John Coltrane.
There are not many of the musicians who redefined jazz in the 1960s who are still active and have meaningful music to offer. Archie Shepp is definitely one of them. In the summer he will come to the Kongsberg Jazz Festival!
When Shepp swept into the progressive jazz scene in New York in the 1960s, he had a wealth of musical experience in his baggage. Like so many other innovators of the decade, he had a keen sense of the African-American musical heritage. He had played both blues, spirituals and rhythm'n blues, and in the middle of all the experiments there was a clear impact of this heritage. He has always had great respect for his predecessors in jazz, such as Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington. He includes many Ellington compositions on his records, and is clearly influenced by the Ellington saxophonist Ben Webster. They have the rue, rough and expressive tone of the horn in common. Plates like Fire Music (1965), Mama Too Tight(1966) and many more are solid masterpieces in jazz history.
Having contributed to one of the greatest musical upheavals in the history of jazz - along with musicians such as Cecil Taylor, John Coltrane and Don Cherry - his music eventually took a new direction, but really it was a return to the roots. He has recently recorded records with blues, spirituals and Charlie Parker songs, and it is music in that vein that he primarily plays today. But he still has the intensity, the passion and the closeness and intimacy of the expression in full measure. The concert at the Kongsberg Jazz Festival will have a historical buzz about it, but will still be a very contemporary and current event.
Archie Shepp's Tribute to John Coltrane
Archie Shepp – saxophone
Carl-Henri Morisset – piano
Darryl Hall – bass
Hamid Drake – drums
Olivier Miconi – trumpet
Marion Rampal – vocals
The doors open at approx. 16:00
Concert start at 17:00
Age limit: 18 years
Accompanying person with an accompanying certificate: only needs to buy a seat ticket and only pays the ticket fee. Contact Ticketmaster for further information.
[event id=”14097″]
[festival pass]
