1995, Music

The Heavyweight Champion: the Complete Atlantic Recordings (1959-60, 1995) by John Coltrane

If Coltrane had died before he moved to Impulse, I still think he would be ranked as one of the two greatest jazz saxophonists ever. His Impulse recordings may have moved him into first place, but his Atlantic recordings are still a marvel.

One of the great things about jazz box sets is that you get to hear the process that goes into the final recordings. Here we hear Coltrane going from a great saxophonist / composer to someone who was the equal or perhaps more than the equal of Bird. All in a matter of months, which is all the more shocking. Trane shows off an amazing diversity in addition to his prodigious technique and path-breaking writing and soloing:

  • he plays ballads in a surprising style that seems to complete opposite to his boundary-shattering solos on the uptempo numbers;
  • he seems equally comfortable in the extremes of bop as in modal jazz as in blues.

Everything about the set absolutely cements his reputation as one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. The only thing that really undercuts that is the fact that he would go on to even crazier things with his next label.

10/10

Giant Steps (1960)

For me this has always seemed like the last word in bop, even though plenty of great bop has been released since. But Coltrane takes it as far as it will go. If you are interested only in the evolution of jazz as an art form, and don’t care about music that sounds nice, there is no real reason I can think of to listen to any bop released after this album. I know that seems absurd but it feels true when you listen to it.

10/10

Coltrane Jazz (1961)

It’s really tough to judge something like this out of context with all the recordings in their proper (i.e. out of order for the album). It’s an odd mix and feels a little out of sorts because of what came before and after.

7/10

My Favorite Things (1961)

This was his major statement in modal jazz (post-King of Blue and pre-A Love Supreme). It was also the first jazz album in ages to showcase a soprano sax. It stands as one of the highlights of the genre and his performances of the standards herein are now the now-standard versions.

10/10

Bags and Trane (1961)

This is Coltrane’s least ambitious Atlantic effort and there’s a reason: it was the first thing he recorded for them – and he recorded it with someone who, though he was the best at his instrument, wasn’t necessarily going the same musical direction. There’s certainly plenty to like here but it’s hardly revolutionary like much of his other Atlantic efforts.

7/10

Ole Coltrane (1962)

This is a major step forward into non-Western musical ideas, which would come to be even more important for his sound very soon.

9/10

Coltrane Plays the Blues (1962)

Divorced from the circumstances these performances were recorded in, they do not sound quite the same. Given how drastically they contrast with the music recorded around the same time, they should point to Trane’s incredible versatility. But collecting it all together like this – thematically as it were – dilutes the effect somewhat.

6/10

Coltrane’s Sound (1964)

By the time this was released, Coltrane had already completely moved on from this music. If you are not evaluating it in 1960 terms, it would look pretty weak.

7/10

The Avant-Garde (1966)

The irony is that by the time this was released (six years after it was recorded) it was no longer avant-garde, as both Trane and Cherry and gone on to make music on a completely different plane than this.

This is Coltrane tentatively covering Coleman (with Coleman’s band, no less). It is interesting as it gives a slight hint – but only a slight one – as to what Trane was listening to. It really doesn’t give the slightest hint that Ascension was even a possibility – and that’s fascinating given that this record was released after Ascension – but it does show that Trane was far more interested in free than some might have supposed (while listening to “My Favorite Things” for example) in 1960.

8/10

The Coltrane Legacy (1970)

A clearinghouse effort from Atlantic after his death. Definitely worthwhile if you are into him, but hardly containing anything that would get you to rethink his legacy…

6/10

Alternate Takes (1975)

On its own, of interest only to the collector or Coltrane fanatic.

6/10

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