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Review: 'Tenor Conclave' is an unusual and specific kind of release, but that's exactly why we've stocked it. A four-track album of long form jazz bits, each song comes courtesy of one of jazz's best-known tenor sax greats: Al Cohn, John Coltrane, Hank Mobley and Zoot Sims. With each recording hailing from the tail end of the 1950s, we're bowled over by each original here like breathy brass blasts from the past; te quartet's rendition of the jazz standard 'How Deep Is The Ocean' is our fave, rounding off the EP with peculiarly noir depth.

Review: Still hot off the nostalgic plate, new label Climbing The Mountain brings forth a legendary live album by the late John Coltrane. On September 30, 1965, aided by a ragtag band of jazz visionaries including Pharoah Sanders, pianist McCoy Tyner, and post-bop drummer Elvin Jones, the undisputed king of the blues succeeded in shutting down The Penthouse, a Seattle jazz club that had previously seen no limelight. This version is restored from the original recordings and now settles on light blue vinyl record. Prepare for a three-suite miracle: 'Out Of This World' is a curious, neo-noir piece suitable for any by-the-book nocturnal crime drama tapering off into more avant-garde endings. Meanwhile, 'Body And Soul' operates in diatonic, swung spiritualism, and 'Tapestry In Sound', a Penthouse exclusive, hears a stunning double bass solo from Coltranean entourage member, Jimmy Garrison.

Review: In the reams of great John Coltrane recordings, this album surely stands of one of the true gems. Originally released in 1963, this collaboration with legendary baritone singer Johnny Hartman captures Coltrane at his mellow best. Alongside the headliners, the line-up on this album also features McCoy Turner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums and Jimmy Garrison on bass, and the result is an understated, sumptuous listen to lose yourself in. Sentimental and melancholic in all the best ways, this is sensitive musicianship at its finest.

Review: Last year, an eagle-eyed researcher discovered a genuine slept-on gem in the archives of New York Public Library: a forgotten, unreleased recording of the John Coltrane Quintet playing - alongside bass clarinettist Eric Dolphy, at the iconic Village Gate venue in August 1961. Here, that recording - now freshly mastered - is released to the public for the first time, and as you'd expect it's rather special. Coltrane is at his magical, blistering best throughout, with his band offering similarly impressive support throughout. Highlights include the only live recording yet discovered of the quintet performing 'Africa', an insanely good 10-minute take on Coltrane classic 'Impressions', and Dolphy's star turn on 'When Lights Are Low'. In a word: essential!

Review: There is little to say or introduce about both the Impulse label and master John Coltrane, apart from stating the obvious. Both label and artist have been cornerstones of jazz music for the better part of sixty years, and it's always a pleasure to have these timeless classics re-compiled and presented as a shimmering remaster of the original format. A Love Supreme is perhaps Coltrane's greatest moment - which that is a bold statement - and unlike the vintage Chicago house reissues that are lauded as being too 'clean' compared to their original formats, jazz is a music that must be listened to with crystal-clear detail and sound. That is precisely what you get here with this beautiful new version of the album, an edition which boasts longer cuts of the original, and that'll go down a storm with the Dingwalls heads. A classic - enough said.

Review: The Major Keys label takes classic album tracks and gives them the respect they deserve across their own 12" pressings. And few musicians deserve such special treatment as John Coltrane, who follows on from an early release on this imprint from Herbie Hancock. Now, the king known as Trane has his gorgeous 'Naima' served up in all its tender glory. On the flip is the much more uptempo and energetic 'My Favourite Things' with all its expressive and squealing trumpet leads and busy drums. Both come on this heavyweight slice of wax, exclusively for Record Store Day 2021.

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: As part of Verve's Acoustic Sounds Series - which champions historic, fan and critical jazz favourites - we're delighted to get a look-in at one of John Coltrane's lesser known live albums. 'Live At The Village Vanguard' was recorded live at New York's iconic jazz club all the way back in November 1961, and was the visionary Trane's first official live album, him being in his early 30s at the time. Joined by Eric Dolphy on clarinet, McCoy Tuner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums and Jimmy Garrison & Reggie Workman alternating on bass, this album makes us truly feel transported back to an earlier, steamier version of 60s NY - jumpy bass and drums of 'Spiritual' and 'Chasin' The Trane' convey a mood of jazz frisk and respite from the city's trilbied bustle. This is a new 180-gram LP version, mastered from the original tapes.

Review: The Sound Of Music had a long-lasting impact, and one of its cornerstones was 'My Favourite Things', later covered by trumpeter-visionary John Coltrane. Coltrane's version - the lead track from the album of the same name - helped cement the song's cultural standing, topping the charts in several countries. Three other tracks appear on the album in mono; Cole Porter's 'Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye', and two standards from the Gershwin twins on the B side. This new reissue by Rhino, however, has both stereo and mono, along with new liner notes: we're blown away by this light-hearted trumpet masterpiece.

Review: This double album is an absolute must for fans of John Coltrane. It is jam packed with some of his best ever recordings as a both a sideman and collaborator alongside such jazz cat greats as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins and Art Taylor. The 'Trane is in electric form on these tunes, mostly from between 1956 and 1975 and on labels like Prestige, Riverside, and Jazzland. The special vinyl edition features two tracks not on the CD -' Nutty' which was on the Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane album, and 'Birks' Works' from the Red Garland Quintet album Soul Junction featuring Donald Byrd. A must have for sure.

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: Given that he was the Impulse label's most significant star during its formative years, it seems fitting that a newly discovered live recording of John Coltrane should form part of the acclaimed jazz imprint's 60th anniversary celebrations. What we get is a genuine piece of jazz history: an expanded, wonderfully free-wheeling and hugely atmospheric performance of Coltrane's landmark A Love Supreme suite, recorded live at The Penthouse in Seattle on October 2nd, 1965. Coltrane is of course in prime form, as are his regular accompanying players. Significantly, these included Pharoah Sanders, who on that now famous night in Seattle was making his first official appearance as part of Coltrane's group.

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: 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: The irrepressible and unmatchable John Coltrane showed once again what a true stylist he was on this Soultrane album. It takes him well away from the ordinary jazz world, much like earlier albums Coltrane and John Coltrane and the Red Garland Trio, with rhythm section men Garland, Paul Chambers and Arthur Taylor proving themselves to be perfectly adept at powering along Trane's innovations. At this point he was already thought of alongside the likes of Sonny Rollins as one of the most influential tenor sax men in the game and that view hasn't changed all these years on.

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: DSD mastered reissue from the 'Jazz The Best Legendary
100' series. John Coltrane's 'Soultrane' was originally recorded in 1958.