The Jazz Piano Of John Coates, Jr.

 

A Minor Waltz

The Jazz Piano Of John Coates, Jr.

Record "Live"... in Concert with DeWitt Kay, Bass & Glen Davis, Drums

Executive Producer: Yoshino Inornata

Cover Artwork: Bob Doney (for display at the Deer Head Inn)

Jacket Design and Typography: Willie Lonardo

Engineer: Peter Kiefer

Omni Sound N-1004

From the back cover: When executives from Shawnee Press are asked "How did you discover John Coates?" they answer quite simply and logically, "We walked across the street." For the past 11 summers Coates has been entertaining and amazing jazz buffs and fellow musicians at the Deer Head with his remarkable interpretations and improvisations, as well as with a growing bag of originals. Concurrently for seven of those years, John has held down an editorial desk at Shawnee Press from which has come some 75 publications to his own credit, including many arrangements of folk and pop songs which have become among the most sung and sought after by school and college choral groups in this country and abroad.

John Coates, Jr., (his father is a musician too) started playing the piano at the age of three. At seven he began piano study, first at Mannes College of Music, later at Dalcroze School Music, New York City. At the age of 12, John began playing professional jazz piano. By the time he was 17, John and his own trio had a jazz record released; much of the music on the album was written by John.

After high school graduation, John went "on the road" in the United States and Europe for two years, playing piano and vibraphone. With that experience under his belt, John went to Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he continued his study of music but majored in Italian. At Rutgers he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude, which just about brings us up to where we were a couple of paragraphs ago.

For those who know John Coates' work the best, it might be described as superbly spontaneous; but Coates the man is never impulsive. For a number of years his many fans have been encouraging him to make a record. But it was not until Yoshio Inomata, executive producer for Omnisound, said, "Hey, can we put up some microphones and see what happens?" that this album happened on February 3, 1974, at Northampton Community College. Without rehearsal and with the help of DeWitt Kay, Bass and Glen Davis, Drums, things were arranged, and the result is, we feel, some of the most exciting jazz to be put down in a long, long time. Just the way it happened, Live.

From Billboard - November 30, 1974: This is an exceptional first effort by a totally innovative jazz pianist, who has been hailed by many jazz masters as a true genius. Four of the six tunes are originals in the Dave Brubeck mold and the other two including a Beatles tune are equally impressive.

Love Is Enough

Tune No. 4

A Minor Waltz

Deep Strings

Yesterdays

Little Rock Getaway