Motian in Motion celebrates the ECM artist as he drums his way through the Village Vanguard, Birdland, the Blue Note, and beyond. Halfway through Motian in Motion, a […]
Hear John Coltrane’s ‘Greensleeves’ anew at the Village Gate, 1961
- Elvin Jones /
- Eric Dolphy /
- Jazz /
- John Coltrane /
- McCoy Tyner /
- Post Bop

Turn up the volume on a newly discovered take on the Christmas classic, recorded at the Village Gate with Eric Dolphy.
Did you know that “Greensleeves,” a song best known to many for John Coltrane’s classic interpretation, is thought by some scholars to be about a sex worker? Before it was rewritten as “What Child Is This?” in the 19th century and became a Christmas song, “Greensleeves” was called “A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves.” It was a breakup song written by a dude shunned by a woman referred to only as “Green Sleeves.” How’d her sleeves get green? Grass stains, the story goes, from her lying down with so many men. Despite her green-sleeved reputation, the narrator of the song has fallen hard for her. But she’s not having any of it.
“Alas, my love, you do me wrong/To cast me off discourteously,” he sings, seemingly heartbroken. In this interpretation, the shunned man’s nickname for her, Green Sleeves, is a vindictive descriptive meant to besmirch. The Baby Jesus rewrite, by Thomas Chatterton Dix, was published in 1865. This version opens with, “What child is this, who, laid to rest/On Mary’s lap is sleeping?” The difference is night and day: One’s about a woman who’s enjoyed a lot of sex and the other’s about a woman who’s never had any.
Armed with this vital info, turn up the volume on a newly discovered Coltrane take on “Greensleeves.” Recorded with a single microphone at the Village Gate in New York in 1961, the 16-minute version came out this year via Impulse! after being discovered in the New York Public Library archives. One of the most important archival releases of the year, Evenings At The Village Gate features Coltrane, woodwind genius Eric Dolphy, and a backing combo of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Elvin Jones.
That it’s recorded with one microphone is notable. As Universal Music wrote in a blog post: “The recordings, uncovered at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, were made by engineer Rich Alderson as part of a test of the Village Gate’s then-new sound system. The tapes seemed to have been lost, were found, but then disappeared again into Library’s vast sound archives.” Audiophiles might have issues with the single-mic recording — a few Coltrane solos are a little low in the mix — but it sounds fantastic to me. You can hear the room, and Jones’ pounding drums have a deep resonance.

The discovery of the tape yielded the only recording of their Village Gate residency and features Coltrane moving through “My Favorite Things,” “Impressions,” “When Lights Are Low” and the only known non-studio recording of Coltrane’s “Africa.”
Those home for holidays and looking for a reason to pop on Coltrane during the family gathering would be advised to queue this up. Not only will it offer 16 minutes of communal bliss, you can stun them with your insight on the rendition.