John Coltrane - 'Coltrane '58: The Prestige Recordings'

 

Born and raised in North Carolina, John Coltrane ("Trane" to friend and fans) moved to Philadelphia after high school and began his career as an alto saxophonist.  Just after World War II, he played with The United States Navy Band.  By the time he joined Dizzy Gillespie’s short-lived bebop big band in the late 1940s, Trane had transitioned to playing tenor saxophone.

In the early 1950s, he spent time with alto saxophonists Earl Bostic and Johnny Hodges.  But, it wasn’t until Miles Davis hired him in 1955 for his first great quintet featuring pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer "Philly Joe" Jones that Trane gained national attention.  Despite the presence of several other tenor saxophonists who could have been a more obvious choice, Miles was drawn to Trane’s unique sound and approach.

The quintet recorded prolifically for the next two years, but Trane’s increasing unreliability due to his heroin addiction led Miles to fire him from the band in 1957.  Returning to Philadelphia, he overcame his heroin addiction and experienced a profound spiritual awakening that profoundly impacted his life and became a central element in his music.

Trane began cutting sides for Bethlehem, Savoy, and Prestige.  A pivotal moment in his development was his long engagement with Thelonious Monk’s quartet at the Five Spot in 1957.  Rejoining Miles' band in 1958, Trane's performances were so intense that Miles often found himself standing back in awe, setting the stage for the events recounted in 'Coltrane '58: The Prestige Recordings'.

'Coltrane '58: The Prestige Recordings' is a 5CD set released in 2019 by Craft Recordings.  It features all 37 tracks Trane recorded as a leader or co-leader for Bob Weinstock's Prestige record label, in eight sessions from January to December 1958, and presented in chronological order.

In 1957, just after his only recording for the Blue Note label, 'Blue Train' and before moving to the Atlantic Records label to make his 'Giant Steps' album in 1959, Trane had a very productive 1958, recording as a leader for Prestige records.

The 1958 sessions were all with quartets or quintets that added Donald Byrd on trumpet, Wilbur Harden on trumpet and flugelhorn, or Freddie Hubbard on trumpet.  Sessions included either Louis Hayes, Jimmy Cobb, or Art Taylor on drums.  "Mr. P.C." Paul Chambers plays bass on every track.  All tracks feature Red Garland on piano, except four from the Kenny Burrell session that features Tommy Flanagan.  Trane had a significant musical history with Paul Chambers and Red Garland, which included recording with them on the classics, Cookin', Relaxin’, Workin’ and Steamin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet in 1957.

From all the material recorded in 1958, only one album, 'Soultrane', was released in that year, which is where Ira Gitler famously coined the widely quoted phrase "sheets of sound" in the liner notes.

The year was also a ghost year of delayed expression.  Other material from those eight sessions was released by Prestige between 1961 and 1965 on the albums 'Bahia', 'Black Pearls', 'Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane', 'Settin’ the Pace', 'Standard Coltrane', 'Stardust', 'The Believer', and 'The Last Trane', all without Trane's input or approval.

My assumption is that these albums were held back because Prestige didn’t want to release too much Coltrane at once and because by 1959, Trane had signed with the aforementioned Atlantic Records label.  The move to a new label was pure business.  Bob Weinstock was pushing to handle Tranes’s publishing, so he refused to record originals for the label.  Instead, he turned to the Great American Songbook of the 1930s and 1940s.  When Trane signed with Atlantic Records, the label had the good sense to let him keep his publishing, which meant greater income.  As a result, his Atlantic albums were filled with original material.

Prestige Records released landmark music by Miles Davis, Gene Ammons, Eric Dolphy, Mose Allison, and many other great jazz musicians.  But it didn’t have the budget that other major labels had—no money for rehearsals and no alternate takes.  As such, the new Trane set is a showcase of one-take wonders, capturing the original mono sound, and recorded with classic all-tube gear and custom microphones by engineer Rudy Van Gelder in his parent's home in Hackensack, New Jersey.  The sonic immediacy is perceptible—Rudy has you seated right in front of the band in his parent's living room, and you feel every note.  The sonics on 'Coltrane '58: The Prestige Recordings' are improved upon, thanks to 24-bit transfers from the original master tapes by Paul Blakemore.

For the freeload, what are some of your favorite years for music?