Trane's Blues: 1956-1957

John Coltrane | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 16, 1999)
• Original Release Date: August 17, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Giants of Jazz (Ita)
• ASIN: B0000060QB
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #590,539 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Trane's Blues

2. Sweet Sue, Just You

3. Soultrane

4. Mating Call

5. Monk's Mood

6. Chronic Blues

7. While My Lady Sleeps

8. Straight Street

9. Bakai

10. Ruby, My Dear

11. Nutty

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars John Coltrane 1956 & 1957: Trio, Quartet, Quintet, Sextet, July 15, 2011

By 

karlojazz - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trane's Blues: 1956-1957 (Audio CD)

This excellent compilation of tunes on the Giants of Jazz label featuring John Coltrane on tenor saxophone focuses on recordings made fairly early in his illustrious career during the years 1956 -1957. One advantage of this collection is that it includes some of Coltrane's lesser-known works, such as the two songs from the 1956 album Mating Call made with pianist/composer Tadd Dameron.

The CD's eleven tracks span a variety of groups from trio to sextet as follows:

Trane's Blues
Miles Davis Quintet
May, 11, 1956

Sweet Sue
Miles Davis Quintet
September 10, 1956

Soultrane
Mating Call
Tadd Dameron Quartet
November 30, 1956

Monk's Mood
Thelonious Monk Trio
April 16, 1957

Chronic Blues
While My Lady Sleeps
Straight Street
John Coltrane Sextet
May 31, 1957

Bakai
John Coltrane Sextet
May 31, 1957

Ruby My Dear
Nutty
Thelonious Monk Quartet
July, 1957

Of the eleven songs, three were written by Coltrane: Trane's Blues, Chronic Blues, and Straight Street. Thelonious Monk also composed three songs: Monk's Mood, Ruby My Dear, and Nutty.

The pianists in the various groups are some of the best-known musicians from the late 1950s: besides Monk himself, one hears Red Garland, Mal Waldron, and Tadd Dameron.

Sound quality is generally good throughout the entire album and the liner notes present an informative chronology of the significant events in Coltrane's musical life. The liner notes also list the personnel for each track, a very helpful addition for anyone wishing to learn more about the making of this music.

Although devoted Coltrane fans probably have many, if not all, of these tracks on their original recordings, this compilation provides a useful introduction to some of Coltrane's best recordings from 1956 and 1957 and it might also help fill out gaps, such as the aforementioned Dameron/Coltrane record, in others' collections of Coltrane's total output. Available at a very low price, this compilation is highly recommended.