The story behind puzzle No. 18
John Coltrane · My Favorite Things · Atlantic · 1960 (released 1961)
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. John Coltrane took a Broadway song from The Sound of Music and turned it into a long, trance-like journey.
Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote My Favorite Things for The Sound of Music, which opened on Broadway in 1959. Coltrane recorded it in October 1960, and Atlantic released the album in March 1961.
It was the first album on which Coltrane played soprano saxophone. The title track became a hit, and in 2018 the album was certified gold.
The band stretches the song far beyond its original length, vamping over the same few chords for long stretches. McCoy Tyner's piano keeps a rolling waltz going, and Elvin Jones's drums churn underneath. Coltrane's soprano sounds almost like a snake charmer's horn.
Who's on it
Keep listening
Compare this to Giant Steps, puzzle No. 4, recorded the year before. It is the same player going in the opposite direction.
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