Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Tenor Madness - Sonny Rollins
2. Weeja - Elmo Hope
3. Polka Dots and Moonbeams - Richard "Groove" Holmes,
4. On It - Elmo Hope
5. Avalon - Elmo Hope
6. Tenor Conclave
7. How Deep Is the Ocean?

Disc 2:

1. Just You, Just Me
2. Bob's Boys
3. Mating Call - Tadd Dameron
4. Soultrane - Tadd Dameron
5. Gnid - Tadd Dameron
6. Super Jet - Tadd Dameron
7. On a Misty Night - Tadd Dameron
8. Romas - Tadd Dameron
9. Soul Eyes

Disc 3:

1. Anatomy
2. Interplay
3. Light Blue
4. C.T.A.
5. Eclypso
6. Solacium
7. Minor Mishap
8. Tommy's Tune

Disc 4:

1. Dakar
2. Mary's Blues
3. Route 4
4. Velvet Scene
5. Witches' Pit
6. Cat Walk
7. Potpourri - Mal Waldron
8. J.M.'s Dream Doll - Mal Waldron
9. Don't Explain - Mal Waldron
10. Falling in Love with Love - Mal Waldron

Disc 5:

1. Blue Calypso - Mal Waldron
2. Way You Look Tonight - Mal Waldron
3. From This Moment On - Mal Waldron
4. One by One - Mal Waldron
5. Cattin' - John Coltrane, Paul Quinichette
6. Anatomy - John Coltrane, Paul Quinichette
7. Vodka - John Coltrane, Paul Quinichette
8. Sunday - John Coltrane, Paul Quinichette

Disc 6:

1. Straight Street
2. While My Lady Sleeps
3. Chronic Blues
4. Bakai
5. Violets for Your Furs
6. Time Was
7. I Hear a Rhapsody
8. Trane's Slo Blues
9. Slowtrane
10. Like Someone in Love
11. I Love You

Disc 7:

1. Dealin' [Take 1]
2. Dealin' [Take 2]
3. Wheelin' [Take 1]
4. Wheelin' [Take 2]
5. Robbin's Nest
6. Things Ain't What They Used to Be

Disc 8:

1. You Leave Me Breathless - John Coltrane, Red Garland
2. Bass Blues - John Coltrane, Red Garland
3. Soft Lights and Sweet Music - John Coltrane, Red Garland
4. Traneing In - John Coltrane, Red Garland
5. Slow Dance - John Coltrane, Red Garland
6. Our Delight - Red Garland
7. They Can't Take That Away from Me - Red Garland
8. Woody 'n You - Red Garland
9. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) - Red Garland

Disc 9:

1. Undecided - Red Garland
2. Soul Junction - Red Garland
3. What Is There to Say? - Red Garland
4. Birk's Works - Red Garland
5. Hallelujah - Red Garland
6. All Morning Long - Red Garland

Disc 10:

1. Billie's Bounce - Red Garland
2. Solitude - Red Garland
3. Two Bass Hit - Red Garland
4. Soft Winds - Red Garland
5. Lazy Mae - Red Garland
6. Under Paris Skies - Ray Draper
7. Two Sons - Ray Draper

Disc 11:

1. Clifford's Kappa - Ray Draper
2. Filide - Ray Draper
3. Paul's Pal - Ray Draper
4. Ammon Joy - Gene Ammons
5. Groove Blues - Gene Ammons
6. Real McCoy - Gene Ammons
7. It Might as Well Be Spring - Gene Ammons

Disc 12:

1. Lush Life
2. Believer
3. Nakatini Serenade
4. Come Rain or Come Shine
5. Lover
6. Russian Lullaby - John Coltrane, Red Garland
7. Theme for Ernie - John Coltrane, Red Garland

Disc 13:

1. You Say You Care - John Coltrane, Red Garland
2. Good Bait - John Coltrane, Red Garland
3. I Want to Talk About You - John Coltrane, Red Garland
4. Lyresto - Kenny Burrell
5. Why Was I Born? - Kenny Burrell
6. Freight Trane - Kenny Burrell
7. I Never Knew - Kenny Burrell
8. Big Paul - Kenny Burrell

Disc 14:

1. Rise 'n' Shine
2. I See Your Face Before Me
3. If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You
4. Little Melonae
5. By the Numbers
6. Black Pearls

Disc 15:

1. Lover, Come Back to Me
2. Sweet Sapphire Blues
3. Spring Is Here
4. Invitation
5. I'm a Dreamer, Aren't We All
6. Love Thy Neighbor
7. Don't Take Your Love from Me

Disc 16:

1. Stardust
2. My Ideal
3. I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)
4. Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?
5. Then I'll Be Tired of You
6. Something I Dreamed Last Night
7. Bahia
8. Goldsboro Express
9. Time After Time

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62446 in Music
• Released on: 1991-09-15
• Number of discs: 16
• Format: Box set

Album Description
The two and a half years represented in this mammoth collection made up a period of great activity and development for young John Coltrane. It was a time in which he worked in the Miles Davis Quintet, then joined Thelonious Monk for his historic Five Spot engagement, and then took his place in the legendary 1958 Miles Davis Sextet. It was a time in which he grew from a somewhat promising tenor player to a supernova about to burst upon the jazz world. It was also a span during which Trane traveled with great regularity to the original New Jersey location of the Rudy Van Gelder Studio, taking part in no less than 25 lengthy Prestige recording sessions.

Coltrane is heard here as leader of his own first albums, as a co-leader, as participant in a number of free-for-all jam sessions, as featured sideman, as frequent collaborator with Red Garland and Donald Byrd-actually in all his Prestige contexts except as a Miles Davis sideman (since those sessions are presently available in the boxed set of Miles's complete recordings for the label). There are 125 selections on these 16 compact discs, totaling almost 1100 minutes of music, an invaluable segment of the full story of one of the truly great creative jazz artists of all times.

Customer Reviews

No better way to hear early 'Trane
All diehard fans of John Coltrane, who can afford it, need to pick up this boxed set. This set of 16 cds offers one the opprotunity to hear 'Trane during his "early period" and well into his "sheets of sound" period. One marvels at hearing the material on this collection. It is hard to believe this is the same man playing on later recordings on the Impulse! lable. All of his appearances on the Prestige lable, save the historic recordings with Miles Davis, are here. Artists appearing on this collection like: Sonny Rollins, Tad Dameron, Hank Mobley, Jackie McLean, Zoot Sims, Gene Ammons, and Freddie Hubbard make this collection just that much more vital. If you want to hear historic music from the early period of John Coltrane's development, or just great jazz, pick up this essential if expensive set.

Set for collectors and completests
This is a very good set. I have long had great respect for the Prestige label for bringing us such marvelous jazz. I also love that van Gelder sound on the Prestige, Blue Note, and Savoy recordings.

There are some incredible moments on this set like the duets with Sonny Rollins, but there are some moments that are sort of routine performances by some of the world's greatest musicians--better than what many other musicians are capable of, but not the best for these musicians. Almost routine for musicians of such high calibre.

Coltrane fans that are not flush with cash need to perhaps get 3 or 4 discs of Coltrane from this period and then go to his Atlantic and Impuse years. Coltrane has a lot of growth in a relatively short period.

If money is not a challenge and you have lots of time, then this set will have lots of very pleasant moments.

Post script: While the Complete Prestige Recordings (16 disc big box) is only available used either by Amazon Marketplace or Ebay, there is also another (Japanese issued) Complete Prestige Recordings (18 disc box) that is available used on Amazon Marketplace and Ebay. The sound is good on the Japanese set, but it does not come with the excellent booklet in the American set. The Japanese reissue is something of a budget set, but also contains the Prestige recordings of Coltrane with Miles Davis which the American set does not contain. Lastly, Concord Music Group has issued a 6 disc set entitled "Fearless Leader" which features Coltrane led sessions. They have also issued a set entitled "Interplay" which is 5 discs and features sessions where Coltrane is a sideman. Concord is scheduled to issue another set in September of 2009 which features Coltrane in Presige label "blowing sessions." So even though the Complete Prestige set is out of print, another remastered collection of sets with signficant liner material. Hopefully the set will come out despite the distressed economic times.

Pure Jazz...Pure Coltrane !
OK..is this set worth the money? Just listen to Tenor Madness and John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins dueling saxes and that should answer your question! This is a chance to hear John produce some of the sweetest sounds he has ever produced. These recordings, early in his career, are some of his best work. They are all recorded by Rudy Van Gelder and the sound is excellent. I have all of Coltranes recodings now and I think that on any given day these are the best with the Atlantic box set coming in a real close second. There is no "free form" jazz here only good blues, ballads and jazz standards. I never had the chance to see Mr Coltrane but with this set his music lives and a lot of us will be asking why he had to leave us so early in life....