Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Part of the Original Jazz Classics Series, this 1963 album from the great Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane is now reissued on 180-gram vinyl. Featuring Burrell and Coltrane, along with Tommy Flanagan, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb, the album comprises five tracks that have been remastered from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. It's an absorbing journey into two genius creative minds and comes comes in a Tip-On Jacket, preserving the essence of the original release while offering enhanced sound quality for contemporary listeners.

Review: Of all his many albums and live shows, A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle is often said by fans to be one Coltrane's greatest works. Until recently, this was a long lost performance from the iconic saxophonist. Recorded in 1964, it is only the second full live performance recording known after one from the Festival Mondial du Jazz Antibes in France from 1965. The quartet for the original recording of one was made up of McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones next to Coltrane himself, but this recording was boosted by Pharoah Sanders on tenor sax and Donald Garrett on second bass. It's a suite packed with spirit, power and soul.

Review: There are few jazz albums as universally adored and significant as Blue Train. That's no exaggerated remark - it's a record imprinted on 20th Century culture, albeit just one of Coltrane's many incredible works. As part of their continued Tone Poets series, Blue Note are revisiting this landmark and giving it a grand presentation under the banner of The Complete Masters. That means, as well as the official recordings that make up Blue Train, we're also treated to a second disc of additional takes which give you a whole new perspective on these eternal treasures, from a false start of 'Blue Train' to multiple takes on 'Moment's Notice' and 'Lazy Bird'.

Review: All aboard the blue 'Trane! one of the many albums that cemented Blue Note and John Coltrane's longstanding working relationship, 'Blue Train' is the saxophonist's second studio album and the only recording with Coltrane taking the role of bandleader. This version comes with several alternate, false starts and incomplete takes, owing to the single-take tradition of jazz recording back in the late 1950s.

Review: Jazz fans take note: Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album more than lives up to its name. It features previously unreleased recordings by the late, great John Coltrane and his regular accompanying players (pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and Drummer Elvin Jones). The reels of tape the tracks were salvaged from were dated 1963, around the time that the quartet laid down some of its most forward-thinking work for the legendary Impulse label. Much of the material consists of original Coltrane compilations, though there are a few notable covers (including a great version of jazz standard "Nature Boy") dotted throughout. As you'd expect, Coltrane's performance is incredible from start to finish.

Review: Jazz fans take note: Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album more than lives up to its name. It features previously unreleased recordings by the late, great John Coltrane and his regular accompanying players (pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and Drummer Elvin Jones). The reels of tape the tracks were salvaged from were dated 1963, around the time that the quartet laid down some of its most forward-thinking work for the legendary Impulse label. Much of the material consists of original Coltrane compilations, though there are a few notable covers (including a great version of jazz standard "Nature Boy") dotted throughout. As you'd expect, Coltrane's performance is incredible from start to finish.

Review: It goes without saying that 'A Love Supreme' is in the upper echelons of jazz history. A spiritual and emotional proclamation from American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, the 32 minute runtime is a narrative of strife and struggle with addiction as well as the notable repetition of his riff in all 12 keys throughout the session in 'Acknowledgement'. In many ways you could say Coltrane's playing wasn't improvised at all, and you could argue that the session was better off for it. At the end of the half an hour, the narrative unwinds and Coltrane is declaring a faith to God, a musical thankyou to his faith that kept him true throughout his trials following a spiritual awakening in 1957 - what resulted was an undisputed musical masterpiece.

Review: Here it is: the all-time great album that popularised jazz for the masses, and which carries the genre's torch to this day. Most works by Coltrane serve as good introductions to jazz’s endemic practice of through-composition, but A Love Supreme (1964, Impulse!) is arguably among his best works to come in four suites; to quarter a technically singular piece. Widely recognised as the moment at which John all-aboarded the Soul ‘Trane, the album marked the apogee of a wave of popular analyses of US jazz records as holding special spiritual significance. This early vaunting may have fed into its popularity into the present day; but we cannot gloss over the fact that such elevations in status do not tend to come without supreme merit, and more level-headed takes on the LP simply interpret it as one of the most impeccably performed, precisely timed jazz records of its day. Remastered for the esteemed Analogue Productions series, its everlasting flame is rekindled.

Review: The recordings that make up Afro Blue Impressions were acquired by jazz impresario and auteur Norman Granz, during the tours he produced for many jazz artists during the 1960s, though they weren't issued until 1973. Recorded at shows in Berlin and Stockholm, the John Coltrane Quartet - comprising pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones - is in tremendous form here, using a familiar repertoire in order to expand upon the group's own building blocks in creating the new post-harmonic system that the saxophonist was developing at the time. Reissued on vinyl by Craft Recordings, this one comes released as part of the Craft Jazz Essentials series.

Review: Blue World is an album that was never intended for release. It features music commissioned for a soundtrack for a Canadian film in 1964 and showcases a quartet that was at its very best. It's made up of short tracks and alternate takes of early Coltrane material and is utterly vibrant. Catchy little ditties like "Village Blues", stripped down numbers like the title track and the mostly-improvised "Traneing In" are all testament to the enduring brilliance of Coltrane, no matter the setting in which he was playing. The clarity of the recording and richness of the bass playing also add to the overall beauty of this record.

Review: John Coltrane's evolving artistry was one of there reasons he remains a jazz icon. His 1961 album Coltrane Jazz saw him transition into his more exploratory phase next to a stellar lineup of musicians like McCoy Tyner on piano, Steve Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. The album blends hard bop with Coltrane's emerging modal influences. Tracks like 'Little Old Lady' and 'Village Blues' highlight his lyrical saxophone playing and innovative improvisation techniques. The album balances complex compositions with soulful melodies, making it a pivotal record in Coltrane's discography that not only captures a moment of transformation for the artist but also cements his status as a jazz luminary.

Review: John Coltrane's Sun Ship, recorded in 1965 but released posthumously, captures the last moments of his legendary quartet with drummer Elvin Jones, pianist McCoy Tyner, and bassist Jimmy Garrison. The album showcases a band fully immersed in Coltrane’s move towards freer structures, exploring rhythm and melody in a way that feels both intimate and expansive. Opening with the title track, the quartet fractures rhythm and melody, creating a sense of tension and release that sets the tone for the entire recording. Garrison and Jones weave around Coltrane's saxophone, blurring the lines between time and pulse, while Tyner’s monumental solo pushes the boundaries of harmony.Tracks like ‘Ascent’ and ‘Attaining’ spotlight the rhythm section, where Garrison and Jones stretch and compress time with an improvisational looseness that retains a powerful drive. ‘Dearly Beloved’ offers a moment of reflection, with Coltrane’s lyrical playing cutting through the multi-layered, almost ritualistic rhythmic landscape, reminiscent of his earlier meditative works. The final track, ‘Amen’, hints at swing, but quickly morphs into something more abstract, blurring the lines between Coltrane’s past and future sound. Sun Ship feels like a pivotal moment in Coltrane’s journey—a summation of everything the quartet had achieved, while also signalling his impending leap into even more avant-garde territory. It is both a farewell to one of the greatest quartets in jazz and a glimpse into Coltrane's final phase of artistic transformation.

Review: It's not hyperbole to suggest that "A Love Supreme" is not only amongst a handful of jazz records that everyone should own, but also one of the greatest albums of all time. As this weighty vinyl reissue proves, it's lost none of its charm. The four-part suite is undoubtedly Coltrane's masterpiece: a deeply spiritual album that saw the virtuoso saxophonist add sublime solos to a backing track that combines elements of modal jazz, hard bop, avant-garde jazz, free jazz, post-bop and modal jazz. It says a lot about Coltrane's quality - and that of his assembled players - that it was recorded in a single day in December 1964. Basically, it's brilliant and there should be a copy in everyone's record collection.

Review: Lush Life is a seminal recording amongst many from the late great and legendary John Coltrane. It came at a time when his sound was transitioning between styles and after he had overcome his addiction to narcotics. He had first played with the Miles Davis Quintet in 1955 before starting his own quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones in 1960 and this one was made from three different recording sessions. Side A is by a trio setup with no piano while the flip is a quintet with Donald Byrd and Red Garland showing their skills. Devoid of the speedy, flashy solo skills he'd been known for in his early career, this is almost ambient, much more about the lush textures and meditational pace than be bop ever was.

Review: In August 1961, John Coltrane and his legendary Quintet, joined by visionary multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy, played the revered Village Gate in Greenwich Village, New York, not, at that time, as established as it would soon become. This special new double album features over an hour and a half of music that has never before been heard, including well-known Coltrane classics such as 'My Favorite Things' and 'Greensleeves' as well as the only known non-studio recording of Coltrane's 'Africa' from his Africa/Bass album. The record then marks a historic moment in Coltrane's career.

Review: Jazz collectors - specifically those of you with an obsession with the work of sax legend John Coltrane - perk up your ears. Many among you might not yet be aware of The Cats, a collaborative album recorded in synergy between Coltrane, guitarist Kenny Burrell, trumpeter Idrees Sulieman, and pianist Tommy Flanagan, but we wouldn't blame you, because this was one that flew under the radar on its New Jazz release in 1959. Not least, this might have been because it was released when Coltrane had moved onto more one-off release projects, shortly after his more widely publicized contract with Prestige Records ended. Nonetheless, it's cited as a deeply special album, resonant of the slinky sound of postwar New York jazz inasmuch as it is of the archetypal feline form.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


This 1961 collaboration between vibraphonist Milt Jackson and saxophonist John Coltrane captures a moment of perfect synergy between two jazz giants. The mix of Jackson's melodic vibraphone and Coltrane's improvisational saxophone gives tracks like 'Bags & Trane' and 'Three Little Words' a deep, infectious groove. The interplay between the ensembleifeaturing Hank Jones on piano and Paul Chambers on bassicreates a tight, flowing rhythm that effortlessly swings. 'Blues Legacy' pays homage to the blues tradition while 'The Night We Called It A Day' reveals the group's sensitivity, with each solo capturing a different facet of emotion. This release is a remarkable reflection of their collaborative genius.

Review: As part of the newly relaunched Original Jazz Classics Series, Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio has remastered this seminal jazz record from Thelonius Monk and John Coltrane from the original tapes and in all analog fashion. It's a deserving treatment for what many believe to be one of the great ever collaborative jazz records. As well as those two legendary players and jazz innovators, further greats joined in the recording sessions including Art Blakey on the drums, Wilbur Ware on bass, and alto sax from Gigi Gryce. What a piece of history it is too.