A good idea Pierre--this is the kind of idea I am hoping for--but I know Spellman a little bit and I just listened to his voice online--it's not him. Listen: https://youtu.be/XRsmznbzY3k
This is really intriguing. Summer 1965 is early but not impossible for a portable cassette player. It was more common then for people to have a portable reel-to-reel player/recorder (Wollensak, etc.). Coltrane, as a world traveler and major recording artist, could have been an early adopter of the ca. 1964 new invention, but maybe the speaker is talking during the 1970s when cassettes were the norm. I don’t recognize the voice.
Hi Allan, yes I thought of that, that maybe the speaker's memory made it into a cassette recorder, but it was really a reel. Either way, it had to be battery operated. And as you say there Were indeed cassette machines by 65. THANKS!
I have no idea who the speaker is, but it sounds like he is reminiscing at a later date, say, the 70s. At any rate this small portion of audio tells us so much, Coltrane arranging for the bus to Newport, his playing on repeat the studio-fresh Ascension recording on a portable player takes the listener to this time and place. Thank you so much for posting these gems, keep them coming!
Thanks Jim. I agree with everything you said--definitely the speaker is talking some years later. And I also agree that even if we don't figure out who's speaking (he had to be pretty close to Trane to be in the studio when he recorded "Wise One"!), the story was worth sharing with everyone! THANKS!
First of all, that was not Ascension that he played at the end. And yes, there were cassette players and recorders out in 1965. My father had one that I would borrow.
Hi Greg--thank you for the info about cassettes. About what he played at the end, you have misunderstood the speaker--he is not saying that this is "Ascension." He says Trane was listening to "Ascension" all the way up, "And this is how he sounded once he got up there." The recording he plays is Trane at Newport 1965, and the piece is "One Down, One Up." I guess you could say that he's suggesting that listening to "Ascension" influenced how he played at Newport. THANK YOU
Hi Gerard, you and I already discussed this in a private email. The only time that Trane rented a bus to Newport was 1965, and in 63 he was performing in Montreal until the night before, and drove down to Newport directly from Montreal (about a 6-hour drive). THANKS!
Not sure which Bruce you mean--nobody gave me anything. But everything she can remember would be great--where, when, who, etc., even play her the voice on the audio and see if it rings a bell for her. THANKS!
The bus he's talking about I believe was a regular thing George Wein provided musicians from the '60s thru the '70s at least (except for the years that Newport Jazz moved to NYC.) I've spoken with a number of musicians who recalled this bus and the conversations that came from unusual seatmates being paired together for a few hours.
Thanks Ashley. Yes, I thought it was interesting that on this audio the speaker says Trane rented the bus. It did occur to me that he might be wrong, and that it might have been Wein (though I couldn't find any reference to it in Wein's memoir or anywhere else). But the fact that it left from 125th St and not midtown somewhere makes me think this 1965 bus may indeed have been rented by Trane. Interesting. THANKS ASHLEY!
The voice sounds so familiar, but I can't place it.
The voice sounds so familiar, but I can't place it.
I agree.
I'd guess he was a musician. He doesn't sound like a radio professional.
I agree. Sounds like a guest host.
Trane enabling people to go up to Newport, and to boot, he's playing cassettes of an upcoming album. Wow. How wonderful was that!
You said it! Even if we don't figure out the identity of the speaker, I thought it was good to share this!
Could the speaker be A. B. Spellman? He had a show on WBAI and wrote quite a few pieces about Trane.
A good idea Pierre--this is the kind of idea I am hoping for--but I know Spellman a little bit and I just listened to his voice online--it's not him. Listen: https://youtu.be/XRsmznbzY3k
THANK YOU!
This is really intriguing. Summer 1965 is early but not impossible for a portable cassette player. It was more common then for people to have a portable reel-to-reel player/recorder (Wollensak, etc.). Coltrane, as a world traveler and major recording artist, could have been an early adopter of the ca. 1964 new invention, but maybe the speaker is talking during the 1970s when cassettes were the norm. I don’t recognize the voice.
Hi Allan, yes I thought of that, that maybe the speaker's memory made it into a cassette recorder, but it was really a reel. Either way, it had to be battery operated. And as you say there Were indeed cassette machines by 65. THANKS!
I have no idea who the speaker is, but it sounds like he is reminiscing at a later date, say, the 70s. At any rate this small portion of audio tells us so much, Coltrane arranging for the bus to Newport, his playing on repeat the studio-fresh Ascension recording on a portable player takes the listener to this time and place. Thank you so much for posting these gems, keep them coming!
Thanks Jim. I agree with everything you said--definitely the speaker is talking some years later. And I also agree that even if we don't figure out who's speaking (he had to be pretty close to Trane to be in the studio when he recorded "Wise One"!), the story was worth sharing with everyone! THANKS!
First of all, that was not Ascension that he played at the end. And yes, there were cassette players and recorders out in 1965. My father had one that I would borrow.
Hi Greg--thank you for the info about cassettes. About what he played at the end, you have misunderstood the speaker--he is not saying that this is "Ascension." He says Trane was listening to "Ascension" all the way up, "And this is how he sounded once he got up there." The recording he plays is Trane at Newport 1965, and the piece is "One Down, One Up." I guess you could say that he's suggesting that listening to "Ascension" influenced how he played at Newport. THANK YOU
Donna was on the bus in 1963, not 65.
Hi Gerard, you and I already discussed this in a private email. The only time that Trane rented a bus to Newport was 1965, and in 63 he was performing in Montreal until the night before, and drove down to Newport directly from Montreal (about a 6-hour drive). THANKS!
Bruce gave you Donna's phone #? I will see her next Weds and will try to get the whole story...if possible. She's heavily medicated.
Not sure which Bruce you mean--nobody gave me anything. But everything she can remember would be great--where, when, who, etc., even play her the voice on the audio and see if it rings a bell for her. THANKS!
The bus he's talking about I believe was a regular thing George Wein provided musicians from the '60s thru the '70s at least (except for the years that Newport Jazz moved to NYC.) I've spoken with a number of musicians who recalled this bus and the conversations that came from unusual seatmates being paired together for a few hours.
Thanks Ashley. Yes, I thought it was interesting that on this audio the speaker says Trane rented the bus. It did occur to me that he might be wrong, and that it might have been Wein (though I couldn't find any reference to it in Wein's memoir or anywhere else). But the fact that it left from 125th St and not midtown somewhere makes me think this 1965 bus may indeed have been rented by Trane. Interesting. THANKS ASHLEY!
You're welcome Lewis. Hope you figure out this one.