Craft Recordings выпустила виниловое переиздание дебютного альбома Джона Колтрейна «Coltrane»

In 1957, John Coltrane was still building the foundation of a career that would eventually alter the course of modern music. Having already established himself as a vital member of Miles Davis’s first great quintet, the fully realized artist behind Blue Train, Giant Steps, A Love Supreme, and countless other landmarks had not yet completely emerged. Coltrane, his debut album as a leader for Prestige, captures him at the beginning of that evolution. Coltrane arrived between his work with Davis and his celebrated tenure with Thelonious Monk. As part of the year-long centennial celebration of Coltrane’s birth, Craft Recordings is releasing Coltrane featuring all-analog (AAA) mastering from the original tapes by Cohearent Audio on 180-gram vinyl. The album opens with “Bakai,” where the melody feels slightly unsettled before the rhythm section settles into a comfortable groove, creating an interesting push-and-pull between structure and improvisation. This back-and-forth returns throughout the track but is always grounded by Paul Chambers’ bass grooves and Albert “Tootie” Heath’s steady drumming. “Violets for Your Furs” brings the tempo down to a smoother, straight-ahead style with Coltrane playing a fluid melody and letting Red Garland take the lead on piano, played over a brushed snare. The tempo kicks back up on “Time Was” as Coltrane plays a busy, yet lyrical melody over a straighter, swinging beat. About halfway through, the focus shifts to Garland on piano before giving Chambers an extended groovy bass solo. The first Coltrane original on the album comes with “Straight Street,” which finds Coltrane playing in harmony with Sahib Shihab on baritone sax before taking the lead on his own. Later in the track, the melody is taken up by Johnnie Splawn on trumpet before Coltrane and Shihab have a bit more interplay. “While My Lady Sleeps” opens with a low piano riff by Mal Waldron before Coltrane takes the lead with a slick melody reminiscent of walking through the sparsely populated streets of Manhattan on a rainy night. The album closes with “Chronic Blue,” another Coltrane original composition. The energy is high, and again we get some harmonic interplay between Shihab and Coltrane before Shihab takes center stage. As the song continues, both Splawn and Waldron get a chance to shine before the song fades out. Though not quite reaching the musical heights of Coltrane’s later releases, Coltrane is a solid debut by the jazz legend. The remaster on this vinyl reissue lets all the instruments come to the forefront, and nothing gets lost in the background, not even a lightly brushed snare drum. While not the best entry point for those looking to get into John Coltrane, it is interesting to see where he started as a bandleader compared to where he would end up on albums like Giant Steps or A Love Supreme.