John Coltrane - Olé Coltrane (1961)

Always my Coltrane of choice, Olé may have been in some way influenced by Miles Davis' Sketches Of Spain from the previous year.  The sound of John Coltrane's 'Spanish tinge' album, however, was much looser and freer than those meticulous Gil Evans arrangements, and looks forward to the (further) fireworks Coltrane was just about to unleash: he'd started recording for Impulse two days prior to this Atlantic session.

The title track takes up all of the first side, and never loses your attention throughout its propulsive, thrilling 18 minutes.  McCoy Tyner keeps it on the rails throughout whilst Coltrane, Eric Dolphy (moonlighting as "George Lane") and Freddie Hubbard take turns in the spotlight.  Even the two-bass battle between Art Davis and Reggie Workman hits the spot.  The other two tracks are equally wonderful, with Dahomey Dance a great blues-based strut and the Tyner-penned Aisha an absolutely gorgeous ballad to close.

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Oliver Nelson - The Blues And The Abstract Truth (1961)

Simply one of the greatest jazz albums ever made.  More details needed?  Have a look at the all-star cast on the cover.  Still not convinced?  Download and enjoy. Six perfectly composed instant classics, with wonderfully harmonized main melodies each giving way to a round of solo spotlights, either in blues measure or near enough, and a sumptuous, reverb-bathed production.

The Blues And The Abstract Truth has always been a November album for me, ever since checking it out of the library at university, popping it in my Discman and walking through the darkening, windswept and rainy streets of Edinburgh listening to Stolen Moments for the first time.  Kind Of Blue, Blue Train et al became part of my life around that same month, but this album has stayed with me more consistently than any other from the 50s-early 60s canon.

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