John Coltrane: More Live At The Showboat 1963

John Coltrane: tenor and soprano sax, solo piano track 8; McCoy Tyner: piano, tracks 4-7; Jimmy Garrison: bass; Roy Haynes: drums

Chasing the Trane / It's Easy To Remember / Up 'Gainst The Wall / The Inchworm / Impressions / I Want To Talk About You / Mr. P.C. / After the Rain (solo piano)

More bootleg Coltrane, and a fierce set at that! Here we find Trane in a trio format for the first three and a half cuts, and quartet for the remainder. The trio tracks are mind-boggling performances with everyone giving themselves over to Trane's music. There isn't a moment where any member is lagging behind; incendiary, intense, and the sound of true dedication. The sound isn't professional quality as it is a bootleg, but the performance more than makes up for it. It gives the listener a sense of what it must have been like to witness these types of shows (at the time, one of a mere 300 or so in a year!), just another night with the Coltrane Quartet...
McCoy Tyner was late to the gig which gives the first three tunes a different quality. A highlight is "It's Easy To Remember": listen to Trane accompany himself, almost a basso continuo, as reaches high on his horn only to delve back to the depths to outline the harmony. When McCoy finally does make it to the bandstand, the rest of the group steps it up another notch. His dense harmonies and rhythmic ideas are incredibly intense, his solos adding his oft-copied but never paralleled sensibility.
Roy Haynes replaces the incarcerated Elvin Jones, and fits into the group like he'd been there all along.
This disc is not for the jazz fan who wants an introduction to Trane, but for the fan who is looking to hear what Trane was searching for night in and night out. Put this disc on, sit back, listen to the crowd chatter and imagine yourself being there!