Night Marchers -See You In Magic -Review by Matt K @ Eastern

Night Marchers – See You In Magic
Vagrant Records

I don’t know how music history would have varied if the 1960s were cut out of the equation, but there are a good number of bands the past 20 years that give us hints. If Little Richard sang for the Sex Pistols, it would probably sound like the Didjits (Touch n’ Go Records). If Willie Nelson was the principle songwriter for Motorhead, it would probably sound like the Supersuckers (Sub Pop Records).
And that’s what we get from the first album of the Night Marchers, See You In Magic. From the opening track, “Closed For Inventory”, it reeks of mountains of reverb and 1950’s rhythm-n-blues meshed with the intensity of the alternative rock and punk rock of the last 25 years. It’s not particularly surprising given lead singer John Reis is picking up where he left off with his especially awesome 1990s flagship band Rocket from the Crypt. This sounds like Rocket from the Crypt minus the saxophones.
See You In Magic feels like a journey through the history of rock and roll minus the hippies and psychedelia. I don’t know that music history would have been better without such elements, but this album is a solid rocker and is welcome in my CD player any hour of the day. Pick this one up.

“I Know the Trane” By Mike @ ZIA H.Q.

“I Know the Trane”

When I first felt the inclination to write about John Coltrane I immediately realized there were aspects of him and his playing that I specifically wanted to not discuss. Though Jazz is often defined by the technical proficiency of its players I realized that I am unqualified to dissect this facet of the genre because:

a) I have a very poor understanding of what say …a scale is, and the only time signatures I can identify by name are 4/4 and 3/4.
b) I do not care about these things. They are not why I listen to Jazz or any music for that matter.

I don’t give a damn whether or not a musician can execute a particularly difficult arrangement or musical maneuver or I may as well be just an avid a fan of brain surgery or rocket science. What I care about is whether or not the music moves me. No one will ever say “Herman Oberth's Ways of Space Flight rocked me to tears!” It’s the abstract nature of music and art that makes you feel joy, despair, hope, sorrow, excitement and endears you to an artist…not whether or not he knows some really tough paradiddles.

This element of music is what makes John Coltrane and his monolithic output so fantastic. Over the course of his 10 brief years as a bandleader the expressive scope of his work is tremendously diverse and impossibly poignant. The Coltrane canon earnestly addresses the entire breadth of human emotion from the sweet and gentle moments on “Lush Life” and “Ballads”, the playful lightheartedness and swagger of “Blue Train”, the intense determination heard on all of his classic quartet releases including “A Love Supreme”, the ferocity of later albums like “Interstellar Space”, and everything in between.

But to only take in the music itself is to neglect a whole other dimension of the Coltrane experience. Wrapping your mind around who John Coltrane was and empathizing with his own life experience provides listeners of his music with the insight and ability to connect with his music at vast new depths.

By all accounts Coltrane was an honest, humble, passionate person and he also had his struggles. He had his vices and his obsessions as we all do. He battled and put to rest a heroin addiction before the period of his most celebrated output – a testament to his will and perseverance, he ardently explored the concept of God and spirituality seeking out holy scripture from all around the world, he yearned to find his place as a black man in America, and he sought to connect himself with his roots as an African. He was a father, he was a husband and he was all of these things with a sense of humility.

John Coltrane’s life was so rich with experience and information that when you’re able to consider his already expressive playing in the context of his life you don’t just hear notes. You don’t hear scales and time signatures, you hear a vibrant and complex human being who is struggling along to figure out himself and the world he lives in the same way we all are. Seeing Coltrane in this light allows him to tap directly into your own emotional reservoir because the sentiment he puts forth rings so true.

I’ll leave you with a quote that I’ve always thought helped define why Coltrane records are so special, particularly the ones recorded with the classic quartet comprised of John Coltrane, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison.

When asked by a group of younger musicians how it was that the classic quartet was able to play with such astonishing intensity drummer Elvin Jones responded “You gotta be willing to die with the motherfucker.”

(Some people willing to die with the motherfucker)

The music that you hear is informed by the people playing it. Understanding who they are provides you with the ability to understand and discover the music they make on a whole new level. This notion perhaps most flawlessly applies to absorbing the music of John Coltrane.

Essential Tracks

“In a Sentimental Mood” - Find it on “Duke Ellington & John Coltrane”
“Resolution” – Find it on “A Love Supreme”
“My Favorite Things” – Find it on “Live at Newport 1965”
“After the Rain” – Find it on “Impressions”
“Blue Train” – Find it on “Blue Train”
“Like Someone in Love” - Find it on “Lush Life”“Ascension” – Find it on “Ascension