Back in 1961, New York’s Village Gate was testing the club’s new sound system, and one thing that was recorded at the time was John Coltrane’s residency there, including Eric Dolphy.
These recordings were never heard before, and have recently been discovered buried in the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
As a number of outlets report, now these recordings have been compiled as Evenings at the Village Gate, and will be released on July 14, 2023, by Impulse Records.
Across 80 minutes, the album features classic Coltrane numbers including “My Favorite Things,” “Impressions,” and “Greensleeves,” as well as “When Lights Are Low” and “Africa.” Coltrane performed the tracks alongside pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman, drummer Elvin Jones, and saxophonist Dolphy.
In an essay accompanying the release, Reggie Workman writes, “During 1961, John was following a different concept as far as his harmonic approach. He was giving more room for the solos and coming from a different place in the way he was constructing his tunes … It was an exploratory time for John.”
