Live at Birdland

For other recordings of the same name, see Live at Birdland (disambiguation).

Live at Birdland
Live album by John Coltrane
Released	1963
Recorded	October 8, 1963 at Birdland March 6 and November 18, 1963 at Van Gelder Studio
Genre	Avant-garde jazz Post-bop
Label	Impulse!
John Coltrane chronology
Impressions (1963) Live at Birdland (1963) Crescent (1964)

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Allmusic

Live at Birdland is a 1963 album by jazz musician John Coltrane. Despite its title, only the first three tracks were recorded live at the Birdland club, the rest were studio tracks. Among the studio tracks is "Alabama" a tribute to four children killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, an attack at a Birmingham, Alabama church by white supremacists. The album's original pressing accidentally included a false start - this was corrected in later copies, but restored in CD editions. The album also features a live recording of "I Want to Talk About You," a song Coltrane had recorded on his 1958 album Soultrane, this time with a famous extended cadenza, lasting nearly as long as the rest of the song.

Track listing

1. "Afro Blue" – 10:50
2. "I Want to Talk About You" – 8:11
3. "The Promise" – 8:10
4. "Alabama" – 5:09
5. "Your Lady" – 6:39

Some reissues include a bonus track:

6. "Vilia" – 4:38

• Tracks 1–3 recorded October 8, 1963 at Birdland, New York City, NY
• Tracks 4–5 recorded November 18, 1963 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
• Track 6 recorded March 6, 1963 at Van Gelder Studio
• "Vilia" is the main melodic statement to the Franz Lehár piece "Vivias" set to a swing feel and chord changes.

Personnel

• John Coltrane — tenor saxophone/soprano saxophone
• Jimmy Garrison — bass
• Elvin Jones — drums
• McCoy Tyner — piano