The cover of the album reminds me of the facade of my father's record store. Surrounding the name of the store 'Tipitina' displayed in white wooden letters, he had various pictures painted. Including John Coltrane. I never had the chance to listen to this record though.
Beside this image of John with his saxophone on the facade was a painting of a burlesque lady around a jukebox, and a small white dog. The dog was positioned like the dog in the logo of His Mater's Voice, but the personal touch here was the large brown dot on the back of the dog. This was the spitting resemblance of our own dog by then: he was called Stip, meaning -appropriately- 'spot'.
The picture of John Coltrane was always fascinating to me. I had no clue who this man on the facade was, except that he was obviously a musician. The picture also displayed two pink-ish dots in the upper right corner, which I did never understand. Until I came across this record. Immediately I spotted the dots, and the intense look of John Coltrane.
So putting the record on, I get it. I get why this man, and this picture was on the facade, as part of the welcoming committee when friends and customers entered the store. It's groovy, it's surprising, the sounds blend beautifully together without being a blur, you can almost feel the joy, passion and of course skill of the musicians.
Reading the inside of the sleeve only grows my fascination. There is no prestigious performance being documented, but a search for individual development while not being restricted by the accepted styles and rhythms. I can't wait for more...
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