Jazz at the Philharmonic Fifth British Tour : John Coltrane Quintet/Dizzy Gillespie Quintet, Kilburn Gaumont State, London (GB) - 11 nov. 1961

Dizzy's band was himself trumpet, Leo Wright alto sax/flute, Lalo Schifrin piano, Robert Cunningham double bass and Mel Lewis drums. Straight modern jazz. The trumpet technique was, of course, amazing. The Coltrane set dominated the show: he was at the forefront of developments in jazz at this time and here he played the long solos we had become accustomed to on record, teasing out every facet of a chord progression, or phrase, it seemed. The band was: Coltrane tenor/soprano sax (an innovation in modern jazz), Eric Dolphy alto sax/flute/bass clarinet, McCoy Tyner piano, Reggie Workman double bass and Elvin Jones drums. Dolphy was also in the avant-garde and his bass clarinet was unusual at this time though more common in later years. Tyner did his terrific limpid runs on the piano and Elvin Jones was all over his kit. Great gig.