John Coltrane – Naima (1965)

I love this laid-back performance by John Coltrane of Naima. Seven minutes of pure joy. This piece first appeared in his album, Giant Steps, and is composed and named after his then wife, Naima Grubb. If you listen to Giant Steps, it will really take you to a journey, where Trane’s mastery of the saxophone is the story, and his music a great narrator of his life.

A review of his album from Amazon.com:

Released in January 1960, John Coltrane’s first album devoted entirely to his own compositions confirmed his towering command of tenor saxophone and his emerging power as a composer. Apprenticeships with Dizzy, Miles, and Monk had helped focus his furious, expansive solos, and his stamina and underlying sense of harmonic adventure brought Coltrane, at 33, to a new cusp–the polytonal “sheets of sound” that distinguished his marathon solos were offset by interludes of subtle, concise lyricism, embodied here in the tender “Naima.” That classic ballad is a calm refuge from the ecstatic, high-speed runs that spark the set’s up-tempo climaxes, which begin with the opening title song, itself a cornerstone of modern jazz composition. This exemplary reissue benefits from eight alternate takes of the original album’s seven stellar tracks, excellent remastering of the original tapes, and an expanded annotation.

I love watching this not only because it’s a rare feat to be able to witness the master at work; it’s because I feel like I’m being pulled into a vortex. John Coltrane practices great restraint while still portraying passion. The smoky room, the sweat on their faces, the mad, wicked fingers – it seemed like time stopped altogether to listen to John Coltrane reach the apex; it’s very, very exhilarating. And that kind of high is something you don’t get from ordinary things.

I also love Naima because the Trane takes his time, and even lets McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), and Elvin Jones (drums) tell their own story, weaving their own rhythms and tunes to Trane’s.

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And because I can’t express my love for Naima any more than I already did, you might want to go over here, where different interpretations for one of the Trane’s greatest pieces ever are explored and discussed.