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What can I possibly say about John Coltrane that hasn't already been said? Every jazz lover worth their salt knows John Coltrane was a player and band leader of unparalleled depth, creativity, and skill. With Craft Recording's new box set Coltrane '58: The Prestige Years the question is less about Coltrane and more about whether Coltrane fans need this prodigious 8-LP 60th anniversary time capsule in their collections. Also available in 5-CD and digital formats.

Until now there hasn't been a cohesive way to listen to Coltrane's entire body of work with Prestige during 1958 in a comprehensive, chronological, and unified collection on vinyl, not to mention one lovingly handled and beautifully presented by the reissue team at Craft. As Ashley Kahn explains in his extensive liner notes, Coltrane's 1958 recording sessions with Prestige were subsequently released in fits and starts during the 1960s in no particular order. This ended up creating a disjointed picture of his development during his tenure with the label. Coltrane '58 remedies this by presenting every recording made with Prestige in their original chronological order.

Coltrane '58: The Prestige Years is comprised of eight 180-gram LPs remastered from the original analog tapes by Paul Blakemore (originally recorded by renowned engineer Rudy Van Gelder) and cut by Clint Holley from 24-bit/192kHz transfers. If you're an analog purist like me, the decision to cut the vinyl lacquers from high res digital files might give you pause, as it did me. While I was skeptical, and would have preferred an all analog process, I can tell you from first hand experience that the overall sound quality of this box set is exceptional. I can't promise you the same, but my copy was dead quiet with not a pop or click across 8 LPs!

Packaging is also a standout, Coltrane '58 is beautifully finished in a lavish linen-wrapped, portfolio-style book, with a cool retro design to match album art of the day. Definitely a box set you'll want to proudly display. Inside you'll find 40 pages of liner notes by Grammy-winning American music historian Ashley Kahn, rare ephemera, and historical photographs of Coltrane and his collaborators, including contributions from renowned jazz photographers Francis Wolff and Esmond Edwards. The 5-CD edition, with a 76-page book, is a faithful replica of the 8-LP vinyl box set.

From Craft's press release: "Coltrane '58 brims with blues, bebop standards, and familiar ballads. There are original compositions and obscure tunes Coltrane rediscovered. Together they offer an array of emotional depth and instrumental prowess, showing how the rising saxophonist was actively stretching sound and increasing the intensity, and shifting the direction of what jazz performance was about. Included are definitive versions of "Lush Life," "Lover Come Back to Me," "Stardust," "Good Bait," and "Little Melonae"; first recordings of originals like "Nakatini Serenade," "The Believer," "Black Pearls," and the heartfelt "Theme for Ernie"; and extended tenor saxophone tours-de-force such as "Russian Lullaby," "Sweet Sapphire Blues," and "I Want to Talk About You" that anticipate the stratospheric heights Coltrane would reach in the 1960s.

Coltrane '58 reveals other significant aspects of Coltrane's emergence, too, like his growing status in the hard bop brotherhood of the day. He recorded with contemporaries (many future legends in their own right), including pianist Red Garland; guitarist Kenny Burrell; trumpeters Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, and Wilbur Harden; bassist Paul Chambers, and drummers Art Taylor, Jimmy Cobb, and Louis Hayes. The sessions all took place in Rudy Van Gelder's legendary home studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, where so much of the best jazz of that era was recorded. Coltrane's music of 1958 benefits from a marked blue-collar, pressure-cooker aesthetic: Born in three-hour sessions with minimal rehearsal, head arrangements and mostly first takes, these tracks provide a true and transparent view of the talent Coltrane was able to draw upon, and the timeless, improvised magic they created together."

Coltrane '58: The Prestige Years is the perfect compliment and prequel to last year's John Coltrane 1963 New Directions box set from Verve. If you have one you'll definitely want the other, collect them all! What's really special about Coltrane '58 is its chronological presentation, and the context it provides listeners. Hearing these recordings in the order in which they were originally created is enlightening, and clearly illustrates Coltrane's progression and genius during his first year as a recording artist in a way which has rarely, if ever, been done before. Over the 37 tracks recorded as a leader or co-leader (see track list below) you hear Coltrane evolve and develop his eventual signature "sheets of sound" style, as well laid back and blow gorgeous ballads as only he could. Each of Coltrane '58's eight records stands solidly on their own, but when listened to in its entirety, this box set becomes an experience. You don't have to play the whole set in one sitting, but if you can, I recommend it. Listening to all eight records in succession in addition to reading Kahn's extensive liner notes, gave me new insight into and renewed appreciation for Coltrane as the visionary artist he was, the way taking a great class about Coltrane would. Having this front row seat to listen to Coltrane at his most fertile as he explored new territory, stretched his craft, and redefined jazz in the process, is a rare treat. Highly recommended.

Track List:

DISC ONE

Side A

1. Lush Life
2. Come Rain or Come Shine

Side B

1. The Believer
2. Nakatini Serenade

DISC TWO

Side A

1. Lover
2. Russian Lullaby
3. Theme for Ernie
4. You Say You Care

Side B

1. Good Bait
2. I Want to Talk About You

DISC THREE

Side A

1. Lyresto
2. Why Was I Born
3. Freight Trane
4. I Never Knew

Side B

1. Big Paul
2. I See Your Face Before Me

DISC FOUR

Side A

1. Rise and Shine
2. Little Melonae

Side B

1. If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You
2. By the Numbers

DISC FIVE

Side A

1. Black Pearls
2. Lover Come Back to Me

Side B

1. Sweet Sapphire Blues

DISC SIX

Side A

1. Spring Is Here
2. Invitation

Side B

1. I'm a Dreamer (Aren't We All)
2. Love Thy Neighbor

DISC SEVEN

Side A

1. Don't Take Your Love From Me
2. Stardust

Side B

1. My Ideal
2. I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)
3. Do I Love You Because You Are Beautiful

DISC EIGHT

Side A

1. Then I'll Be Tired of You
2. Something I Dreamed Last Night

Side B

1. Bahia
2. Goldsboro Express
3. Time After Time

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