Fully Remastered in Glorious Mono!

While John Coltrane first gained attention for his revolutionary 'sheets of sound' technique, it was the deep spirituality of his music that really made his recordings as a bandleader such classics. The albums Coltrane recorded for Atlantic in 1959 and 1960 represent the heart of his unparalleled legacy. The John Coltrane: The Atlantic Years In Mono box set gave fans a glimpse into how Coltrane's music first appeared to dedicated listeners through the '60s. Now the remastered mono editions of the sets' Giant Steps (1960), Bags & Trane (1961), Ole Coltrane (1962), Coltrane Plays The Blues (1962) and The Avant Garde (1966) will be available individually.

When these recordings first made it to the retail shelves, a majority of consumers were taking the discs home and listening to them on equipment that played the music monaurally. Commercial stereo releases first began to appear in 1958 - meaning that all of Coltrane's Atlantic recordings were released simultaneously in both mono and stereo formats. By '68 the label began to phase out mono releases altogether. Musical preferences are always subjective, yet the value of John Coltrane's mono recordings far exceed musical nostalgia; they offer historical validity, the same aural experience that greeted fans when these albums were first released.

Trane formed his first quartet as a leader at New York's Jazz Gallery in May 1960. He also began playing the soprano saxophone during his tenure at the club. It was in that exact period that he recorded his one and only session with trumpeter Don Cherry, released as The Avant-Garde in 1966. But instead of using his regular quartet the saxophonist employs a pianoless quartet more associated with Cherry's longtime associate Ornette Coleman. Charlie Haden and Percy Heath alternate on bass while drummer Ed Blackwell rounds out the group. As expected Coltrane (who also doubles on tenor sax here) and Cherry trade blows throughout!

Musicians:
John Coltrane, tenor & soprano saxophone
Don Cherry, cornet
Charlie Haden / Percy Heath, bass
Ed Blackwell, drums