Ask Me Anything with Ken Druker, Executive Producer on John Coltrane’s “The Lost Album: Both Directions At Once”

Why was it never released until now?

The master tapes were lost by the record company and Coltrane's own reference tapes were only recently discovered in the home of his first wife, Naima, after her passing.

Be honest: Who's better, John Coltrane or Rush?

As a Canadian, I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that it may incriminate me.

What do you think the odds are that more Coltrane studio albums could be released? I have a Coltrane reference book that documents every studio session he ever did, and he did a lot of studio work, especially in 1966 and 1967, that has never been released. If Coltrane got reference tapes for the Both Directions At Once session, do you think theres a chance that more reference tapes for unreleased material could be easily found?

It's always possible, I guess, but I don't currently know of any studio dates for Impulse that haven't been released. But that's the same thing I would have said before finding out about this 3/6/1963 session. For a band that had such a strong impact on audiences, there may also be strong recorded live performances that could be of great interest to all of us Coltrane fans.

Wow that sounds really cool what book is that? Is it still in publication?

The definitive book is "The John Coltrane Reference" by Chris DeVito, Yasuhiro Fujioka, Wolf Schmaler and David Wild, edited by Lewis Porter. An incredible work of scholarship.

What's your favorite Coltrane song and why?

It's very hard to narrow it down from all of Coltrane's recordings but, for today, I'll pick "Slow Blues" from this new album. It captures Coltrane's soulfulness, his musical restlessness and his deep feeling for and understanding of the blues - the foundation of all jazz , if not all American music.

What was it like working on this project?

Extraordinary, from start to finish. Even though I knew that the tapes existed for a few years, hearing them for the first time in December 2017 was revelatory. Since then, working with Ravi Coltrane and seeing the reception of the album over the last few weeks has been incredibly gratifying.

As McCoy Tyner is the only member of the quartet still alive did he play any role in the release?

We played the entire session for Mr. Tyner and his family soon after we received the reference reels. He didn't have any specific recollections of the session or the previously-unknown compositions but he spoke very warmly and emotionally of his time with Coltrane's quartet. It was an incredibly special experience for all off us in the studio that day.

Did McCoy Tyner assist, comment, add perspective, etc., during the remastering and re-sequencing of the tracks?

By giving us a sense of what it was like to be in that quartet and by his warm recollections of John Coltrane, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones, Mr. Tyner definitely added a perspective to our work on this project that we wouldn't have otherwise had.

Did you hear any interesting comments or conversations between the musicians that were recorded on tape between takes?

Not really. There are only the slate numbers stated by Bob Thiele at the start of the take (most of which appear on the Deluxe Edition) and sometimes you can hear a word or two or a tune being counted off very quietly by Coltrane. There are a few other unidentified voices that make very short appearances.

Can you discuss Coltrane's playing on One Up, One Down with his false fingerings? Not only were the notes he chose to play brilliant, but he also wanted to push the sonic boundaries of the instrument. Why is that so important on these recordings?

Again, it all points toward the future of Coltrane's music and the future of improvised music in general. The extended saxophone techniques that Coltrane employed from this point forward had a huge impact on the sound of jazz and on the way that all musicians, not just saxophonists, approached their instruments.

The title of the album, Both Directions at Once, implies Coltrane may have been in-between differing musical styles when this was created. What song or songs on the record do you feel most represent the state Coltrane + the Classic Quartet were in at the time of recording?

Based only on my intuition, "One Up, One Down" would seem to me to represent what the band most sounded like live at that time. It's pointing toward the future of the group and seems to capture the energy that I would expect of the quartet live. You can listen to "Live at Birdland" from later that year and see if you agree.

It's amazing to me that this was basically unknown until now, especially since this is the classic quartet, and was done at Van Gelder's studio.

What shape were the tapes in when they were discovered? And can you talk a bit about how they were restored/recovered?

The recordings sound wonderful! A testament to Rudy and everyone afterwards who worked on making these heard all these years later.

Thank you!

The tapes were in phenomenal condition, given that they were 55 years old. After a careful transfer, they required little (but crucial) work by Kevin Reeves to get them ready for release.

how long did it take you to sequence the record once you received final tapes in hand?

Ravi Coltrane and I both lived with the music for a few weeks and then chose the takes and sequence probably within 4-6 weeks of first having heard it. We were in agreement pretty much right down the line. We discussed flipping "Slow Blues" and "One Up, One Down" at the end of the standard edition but are now both happy that the album ends with "One Up, One Down".

Kudos on the strong response to the release. Do you anticipate this will be eligible to receive RIAA Gold or Platinum status based on initial sales and streaming response?

Fingers crossed. That's a lofty goal but we can always hope. FYI, we're maybe 1-2 years away from certifying "A Love Supreme" platinum.

Other than Coltrane, what jazz musician would you like to discover and executive-produce a lost recording of?

Really hard to say but, given his tragically short life and his overwhelming musicality, I'd love to hear more Clifford Brown studio recordings.

Do you think his best work occurred when he was on heroin?

Seeing as how all of his work as a leader was recorded after he'd recovered from his addiction, I think the answer is fairly clearly no.