The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings | |
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Box set by | |
Released | 1995 |
Recorded | 1959–1961 |
Genre | Jazz |
Length | 407:20 |
Label | Atlantic |
Producer | Nesuhi Ertegün and Joel Dorn |
The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings is a 1995 box set by jazz musician John Coltrane. It features all of the recordings Coltrane made for Atlantic Records, spanning January 15, 1959, to May 25, 1961.
During Coltrane's Atlantic years, he made important recordings such as Giant Steps and My Favorite Things , recorded albums with Milt Jackson, Don Cherry, and Eric Dolphy and made his debut on the soprano saxophone.
Coltrane recorded eight albums for Atlantic, plus two compilation albums released posthumously. See the individual articles for discussions of these albums, all of which are included in the Atlantic box:
The seventh CD of this set features all of Coltrane's Atlantic outtakes (the rest were lost due to fire), including no fewer than 10 incomplete and alternative versions of "Giant Steps". [1]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Penguin Guide to Jazz | (Crown award) [1] |
Allmusic | [2] |
Tom Hull | A− [3] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz assigned its "Crown" award to the box set, in addition to giving it a four-star rating (of a possible four). [1] In spite of the accolade, authors Richard Cook and Brian Morton noted that the box set presents a problem for collectors who already own the constituent albums (all of which were in print at the time of the box set's release), but who are seeking the additional material only available on the seventh disc. [1] Cook and Morton also took issue with what they deemed an "ugly title" for the set. [1]
Allmusic gave the album a five-star rating (of a possible five). [2] Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "the scope of this music is, quite simply, breathtaking — not only was Coltrane developing at a rapid speed, but the resulting music encompasses nearly every element that made him a brilliant musician, and it is beautiful." [2]
(The LP each song originally appeared on is listed in parentheses)
Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc 3
Disc 4
Disc 5
Disc 6
Disc 7 (outtakes)
Recorded between January 15, 1959, and May 25, 1961, in New York City.
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
A Love Supreme is an album by the jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane. He recorded it in one session on December 9, 1964, at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, leading a quartet featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones.
My Favorite Things is a studio album by the jazz musician John Coltrane. It was released in March 1961 on Atlantic Records. It was the first album to feature Coltrane playing soprano saxophone. An edited version of the title track became a hit single that gained popularity in 1961 on radio. The record became a major commercial success.
Reginald "Reggie" Workman is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey.
Olé Coltrane is a studio album by the jazz musician and composer John Coltrane. It was released in November 1961 through Atlantic Records. The album was recorded at A&R Studios in New York, and was the last of Coltrane's Atlantic albums to be made under his own supervision.
Live in Japan is a live album by American saxophonist John Coltrane, recorded for radio broadcast during his only Japanese tour in July 1966 at two Tokyo venues, Shinjuku Kosei Nenkin Hall and Sankei Hall. The recordings feature his last group, a quintet featuring Coltrane, his wife/pianist Alice, saxophonist/bass clarinetist Pharoah Sanders, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Rashied Ali.
Coltrane's Sound is an album credited to the jazz musician John Coltrane, recorded in 1960 and released in 1964 on Atlantic Records, catalogue SD 1419. It was recorded at Atlantic Studios during the sessions for My Favorite Things, assembled after Coltrane had stopped recording for the label and was under contract to Impulse! Records. Like Prestige and Blue Note Records before them, as Coltrane's fame grew during the 1960s Atlantic used unissued recordings and released them without either Coltrane's input or approval.
Africa/Brass is a studio album by the jazz musician John Coltrane. It was released on September 1, 1961 through Impulse! Records. The sixth release by the fledgling label and Coltrane's first for Impulse!, it features Coltrane's working quartet augmented by a larger ensemble to bring the total number of participating musicians to 21. Its big band sound, with the unusual instrumentation of French horns and euphonium, presented music very different from anything that had been associated with Coltrane to date. While critics originally gave it poor ratings, more recent jazz commentators have described it as "amazing" and as a "key work in understanding the path that John Coltrane's music took in its final phases."
Bags & Trane is an album credited to jazz musicians Milt Jackson and John Coltrane, released in 1961 on Atlantic Records, catalogue SD 1368. Taking its title from Jackson and Coltrane's nicknames, it is the only collaborative record by the two, although only Jackson contributed original compositions. In actuality, the album belongs in Jackson's discography, as he was the session leader and still signed to Atlantic under the auspices of the Modern Jazz Quartet, and not in that of Coltrane, who had left the label for Impulse Records at the time of this album's first issue. However, like Prestige Records, as Coltrane's profile grew after he had stopped recording for the label, Atlantic released them with Coltrane's name more prominently displayed.
This article presents the discography of the American jazz saxophonist and bandleader John Coltrane (1926–1967).
Coltrane Jazz is a studio album by the jazz musician John Coltrane. It was released in early 1961 on Atlantic Records. Most of the album features Coltrane playing with his former Miles Davis bandmates, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb during two sessions in November and December, 1959. The exception is the track "Village Blues", which was recorded October 21, 1960. "Village Blues" comes from the first recording session featuring Coltrane playing with pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones, who toured and recorded with Coltrane as part of his celebrated "classic quartet" from 1960 to 1965.
Coltrane "Live" at the Village Vanguard is a live album by the jazz musician and composer John Coltrane. It was released in February 1962 through Impulse Records. It is the first album to feature the members of the classic quartet of Coltrane with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones, as well as the first Coltrane live album to be issued. In contrast to his previous album for Impulse!, this one generated much turmoil among both critics and audience alike with its challenging music.
The Major Works of John Coltrane is a compilation album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1992 by GRP Records. It features extended compositions, all recorded in 1965 with expanded ensembles, and originally released by Impulse! Records on Ascension, Om, Kulu Sé Mama, and Selflessness: Featuring My Favorite Things. Both editions of Ascension are included.
The Complete Copenhagen Concert is a live album by jazz musician John Coltrane. It was recorded on November 20, 1961, at the Falkonercentret in Copenhagen, Denmark during a European tour, and was released in 2009 by both Magnetic Records, a label based in Luxembourg, and Gambit Records, based in Spain. In 2013 it was reissued by 'In' Crowd Records. The album features Coltrane on tenor and soprano saxophone, Eric Dolphy on bass clarinet, alto saxophone, and flute, McCoy Tyner on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums.
The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings is a box set of recordings by jazz musician John Coltrane, issued posthumously in 1997 by Impulse! Records, catalogue IMPD4-232. It collects all existing recordings from performances by the John Coltrane Quintet at the Village Vanguard in early November, 1961. Five selections had been issued during Coltrane's lifetime on the albums Live! at the Village Vanguard and Impressions. Additional tracks had been issued posthumously on the albums The Other Village Vanguard Tapes, Trane's Modes and From the Original Master Tapes.
The Coltrane Legacy is a compilation album credited to jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1970 on Atlantic Records, catalogue SD 1553. Issued posthumously, it consists of outtakes from recording sessions which yielded the albums Olé Coltrane, Coltrane Plays the Blues, Coltrane's Sound, and Bags & Trane. All selections were previously unreleased.
Selflessness Featuring My Favorite Things is a posthumous album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1969. The album juxtaposes two tracks recorded live at the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival with a single track ("Selflessness") recorded in a studio in Los Angeles in 1965.
The Last Giant: Anthology is an album by jazz musician John Coltrane. This 2-CD set compiles recordings spanning the years 1946–1967, and was released by Rhino Records in 1993.
The Best of John Coltrane is a 1970 compilation album released by Atlantic Records collecting recordings made by jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. The album was released shortly after his death as a part of the "Atlantic Jazz Anthology"—a series of greatest hits compilations for Atlantic jazz artists—and features performances from his brief period recording for Atlantic with new liner notes by jazz journalist Nat Hentoff.
Live Trane: The European Tours is a 7–CD compilation album by American saxophonist John Coltrane containing music recorded live during 1961, 1962, and 1963 European tours, all of which took place under the auspices of Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic programs. The album, which was released in 2001 by Pablo Records, features Coltrane on tenor and soprano saxophones along with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassists Jimmy Garrison and Reggie Workman, and drummer Elvin Jones. In addition, Eric Dolphy is heard on alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute on a number of tracks.