The Ultimate Elvin Jones

• 1 In The Truth 05:03
• 2 What Is This? 07:06
• 3 Ascendant 05:14
• 4 Yesterdays 05:37
• 5 Sometimes Joie 10:37
• 6 We'll Be Together Again 03:04
• Total Runtime 36:41

Info for The Ultimate

An incredible trio album – not just for the powerful drums of the great Elvin Jones, but also for amazing work on reeds by a young Joe Farrell! Farrell's in his pre-CTI years here, and really lets loose in the space of the album's open setting – a trio that just features Jones on drums and Jimmy Garrison on bass – soaring to the skies on these freewheeling solos on tenor, soprano sax, and even a bit of flute – all played with the kind of creative fire that we always find in Joe's best records! The album's a great illustration of the fresh directions that Elvin Jones was taking after the passing of John Coltrane – and the whole thing sparks with fire and brilliance – on bold tracks that include 'In The Truth', 'What Is This', 'Sometimes Joe', and 'Ascendant'.

„This is one of Joe Farrell's finest recordings. Switching between tenor, soprano and flute, Farrell had to be good because he was joined in the pianoless trio by bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. The group performs two standards, three Garrison originals and one by Farrell; it is a tossup as to who takes honors. Farrell is in consistently creative form but Garrison's occasional solos and Jones's polyrhythmic accompaniment are also noteworthy. This LP is long overdue to reappear on CD.“ (Scott Yanow)

Elvin Jones, drums
Joe Farrell, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute
Jimmy Garrison, bass

Recorded on September 6, 1968 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs
Produced by Duke Pearson

Digitally remastered

Elvin Jones
will always be best-known for his association with the classic John Coltrane Quartet (1960-65) but he has also had a notable career as a bandleader and has continued being a major influence during the past 30 years. One of the all-time great drummers (bridging the gap between advanced hard bop and the avant-garde), Elvin is the younger brother of a remarkable musical family that also includes Hank and Thad Jones. After spending time in the Army (1946-49), he was a part of the very fertile Detroit jazz scene of the early '50s. He moved to New York in 1955, worked with Teddy Charles and the Bud Powell Trio and recorded with Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins (the latter at his famous Village Vanguard session). After stints with J.J. Johnson (1956-57), Donald Byrd (1958), Tyree Glenn and Harry "Sweets" Edison, Elvin Jones became an important member of John Coltrane's Quartet, pushing the innovative saxophonist to remarkable heights and appearing on most of his best recordings. When Coltrane added Rashied Ali to his band in late 1965 as second drummer, Jones was not pleased and he soon departed.

He went on a European tour with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and then started leading his own groups which in the 1990s became known as Elvin Jones's Jazz Machine. Among his sidemen have been saxophonists Frank Foster, Joe Farrell, George Coleman, Pepper Adams, Dave Liebman, Pat LaBarbera, Steve Grossman, Andrew White, Ravi Coltrane and Sonny Fortune, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, pianists Dollar Brand and Willie Pickens, keyboardist Jan Hammer and bassists Richard Davis, Jimmy Garrison, Wilbur Little and Gene Perla among others. Elvin Jones has recorded as a leader for many labels including Atlantic, Riverside, Impulse, Blue Note, Enja, PM, Vanguard, Honey Dew, Denon, Storyville, Evidence and Landmark.

This album contains no booklet.