Billboard : 03/09/1957
Score of 72

The last time Dameron appeared on records was his Fontainebleau LP on Prestige, and it is good to hear him again, playing with the same sensitivity and intelligent probing. He is paired with tenor-man John Coltrane, who has been recorded a great deal since joining the Miles Davis quintet late in 1955. Most of the time here he is blowing hard, muscular horn a la Sonny Rollins, which is impressive enough in the fast, long-lined numbers, but sometimes disappointing in the ballad. Dameron gets writing and arranging credit for all selections, and some, like the title opus, Mating Call, are first-rate. Fair to good sales to the modern wing.

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Pittsburgh Courier : 03/23/1957
Harold L. Keith : 3.5 stars

Coltrane displays a wall that is undistorted by the moving composition of Tadd Dameron whose artistry has been missing too long from the houses of wax. We are glad to have Tadd back with us following his all-too-recent run of misfortune. With Philly Joe Jones on drums and John Simmons on bass, Tadd and Coltrane collaborate on five compositions which highlight the pure tonal effects of the “train’s” horn. And listen carefully to the beautiful solo of Philly Joe on Super Jet.

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Down Beat Review : 04/30/1957
Nat Hentoff : 3.5 stars

All six are Dameron originals and are, in a sense, the prime virtue of the date. Tadd possesses the apparently rare ability to write melodies of strength and relative freshness; and he is further able to write for varying emotional contexts.

Although Coltrane receives most of the solo time, Dameron is heard in each number, and his playing is functionally conceived, harmonically sensitive, and personal. He projects strength an a flowing pulse. He also comps effectively. Simmons and Jones provide steady anchoring.

Coltrane, who has become increasingly known as a result of his work with the Miles Davis quintet, continues to be improved, and this record contains some of his best work. As Ira Gitler points up in the informed notes, Coltrane comes in part out of Sonny Stitt and Dexter Gordon as well as Sonny Rollins. (His fourth favorite is Stan Getz.) Like many disciples of the first three, Coltrane’s tone is often strident at the edges and rarely appears able to sustain a legato softness, as Getz can.

Coltrane has a feeling for variegated moods, but his tone doesn’t yet display enough range and control of coloration when he expresses gentler, more complex feelings.

There is an impressive power in Coltrane, an unapologetic projection of spontaneous emotion. And as Gitler says, he is a “searcher” with often arresting conception.

Another horn – a gentler trumpeter, say – would have helped complement the not always attractive Coltrane sound and also would have illuminated the originals more fully in what could have been more substantial ensemble passages. But it’s an album worth absorbing nonetheless.

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Liner Notes by Ira Gitler

The last time Tadd Dameron appeared on record was on his own Fontainebleau (Prestige LP 7037). There were eight pieces in the group and the main effort was the title composition with Tadd’s arranging talent coming strongly to the fore. While there are only four men present for this session and arranging is certainly not stressed, Tadd’s composing is as potent as ever with such memorable items as Mating Call, Soultrane, Gnid, and On A Misty Night far above the usual “originals” that often appear on a recording date.

To play these compositions, the aid of tenorman John Coltrane was enlisted. Trane’s tenor answered the mating call of Tadd’s music.

Many of you know Tadd through his work for and with Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughan among others in the Forties, the small group he led in 1948 and the results of these associations which have endured on record. Born in Cleveland in 1917, Tadd was, to me, the arranger of the new movement of the Forties. In his compositions today you can hear the best of the melodic from the Thirties and Forties coupled to the harmonies of the Forties which he was instrumental in forming and utilizing. He has always known how to pick musicians of caliber and has fostered their careers by featuring them. Outstanding examples are Fats Navarro and Allen Eager in 1948 and Clifford Brown in 1953. Here it is the tenor sax of John Coltrane.

John Williams Coltrane was born in Hamlet, North Carolina on September 23, 1926. From an early age he heard music around the house as his father, a tailor by profession, played several instruments in his spare time. Trane’s first instrument was the Eb alto horn which was followed by the clarinet. In high school he moved to the saxophone and later in Philadelphia, studied at the Granoff Studios and the Ornstein School of Music. In the Quaker City he made his professional debut in 1945 but soon entered the Navy and was stationed eventually with a Navy band in Hawaii through 9146. After his discharge, Trane travelled with the Eddie Vinson band in 1947 and 1948. Then he joined Dizzy Gillespie’s big band on alto in 1949. When Diz disbanded early in 1950 to form a small combo, Trane switched to tenor and remained until 1951. Then it was back to the rhythm and blues trail with Earl Bostic in 1952 and 1953 but in the latter year he left to join Johnny Hodges. The Rabbit was his leader through 1954. It wasn’t until he joined Miles Davis‘ newly formed quintet late in 1955 that Trane began to receive some recognition. From his employment record you can see that he did not appear on the scene full blown. It is rather a matter of dues which he has been paying for a while. The past year with Miles has bene invaluable to his development and that growing process has speeded considerably as the year progressed.

Trane’s admitted favorites on tenor are Sonny Stitt, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz. The first two show up strongest in his style. He sculpts a line in the Stittian manner with personal turns of phrase and his scooping of sustained notes is reminiscent of of Dexter Gordon in the mid-Forties. His upper register sound is similar, too, to the way Gordon wailed (literal not colloquial jazz meaning) his higher notes.

Trane is a searcher who is not afraid to essay new combinations of notes when performing publicly. He listens to what is going on behind him and does not play by rote. As they say in the Theatre, “He reacts.” This is why his playing is deep with emotion, conveyed by a sound much like the human voice.

Tadd’s intelligent comping, the strength of veteran John Simmons‘ bass and the brightly burning power of the consistent Philly Joe Jones adds up to solid sum that is the rhythm section.

Each track has something to offer: the exotic Mating Call, the aptly named ballad that is Soultrane, the acrid, tart, stimulating Gnid, the bright-tempoed Super Jet, the sad/happy charm of On A Misty Night and the creeping funk of the blues Romas.