John Coltrane discography

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John Coltrane discography
Releases
Studio albums 114
Live albums 29
Compilation albums 6
EPs 8
Singles 7
Music videos 7

In his relatively brief career, John Coltrane recorded over 100 live and studio albums, both as a leader and a sideman, authoring some of the most deep and diverse musical work of the twentieth century. The bulk of Coltrane's work as a leader was recorded for the Prestige, Atlantic and Impulse! labels. Other labels recorded Coltrane as a leader, most notably Blue Note, for whom he recorded the famous Blue Train album. Some of his later work, in particular live recordings, was released by foreign labels. Most of Coltrane's recordings as a sideman were made when he was with the Miles Davis quintet. The majority of these are collected in the Columbia box set, but the quintet also made a number of important recordings for Prestige.

Contents

[edit] Early recordings

Coltrane’s first recordings were with the Jimmy Johnson Big Band and Dexter Culbertson’s U.S. Navy Band in 1945. His first recorded solo was on "Hot House" with Culbertson; it is available on the compilation The Last Giant: Anthology. Coltrane also recorded under the leadership of Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Hodges, Earl Bostic, Dinah Washington and Gay Crosse prior to joining the Miles Davis Quintet.

Most of these recordings were made before the LP (long play record) became the standard format, so the albums listed below were either 78s or LPs released a significant time after their recording. 45s (singles) are listed only if unavailable in other formats.

Earl Bostic

  • Earl Bostic and his Orchestra (1952) (78)
  • Earl Bostic and his Alto Sax, Vol. 4 (1952) (LP)

Gay Crosse

  • Fat Sam from Birmingham b/w Bittersweet (1952) (45)
  • Easy Rockin’ b/w G.C. Rock (1952) (45)
  • No Better for You b/w Tired of Being Shoved Around (1952) (45)

Dexter Culbertson’s U.S. Navy Band

  • Dexter Culbertson’s U.S. Navy Band (1946) (4 unnumbered 78s)

Dizzy Gillespie

  • Strictly Bebop (1950) (78)
  • The Complete Recordings with Dizzy (1949-1951) (LP)
  • The Champ (1951) (Coltrane on 2 tracks only) (78)
  • Trane’s First Ride 1951 (2 volumes) (1951) (LP)
  • School Days (1951) (78)
  • The Champ (1951) (78)
  • Birk’s Works (1951) (LP)

Johnny Hodges

  • At a Dance, In the Studio, On the Radio (1954) (78)
  • Used to Be a Duke (Coltrane on 2 tracks only) (1954) (78)

Dinah Washington

  • The Good Old Days (1949) (45)
  • The Blues (1949) (45)
  • Fast Movin’ Mama b/w Juice Head Man of Mine (1949) (45)
  • The Richest Guy in the Graveyard b/w unknown (1949) (45)

[edit] With Miles Davis

See Miles Davis for more information on Coltrane’s recordings with Davis.

Compilations:

1955:

1956:

1958:

1959:

1960:

  • Live at Olympia Paris (1960)
  • Miles Davis and John Coltrane Live in Stockholm (1960)

1961:

[edit] With Thelonious Monk

1957:

[edit] Albums by label

[edit] Prestige

In 1957, Coltrane signed a two-year contract to record exclusively with Prestige Records. Many of Coltrane's recordings for Prestige could be classified as "sidemen" recordings, as these albums were the results of rather informal jam sessions (“blowing sessions,” in the then-current terminology) under various leaders, most often Mal Waldron. When Coltrane began to gain prominence in the early 1960s, Prestige also reissued a number of Coltrane’s recordings as a sideman under his own name to capitalize on his success. The leaders of such albums are indicated below. The The Prestige Recordings collects all of Coltrane’s recordings for Prestige with the exception of his work with Miles Davis.

Compilations:

  • The Prestige Recordings [Prestige] (16 discs) (1991)
  • The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions (4 discs) (Miles Davis, leader) (2006)
  • Fearless Leader (6 discs) (2006)
  • Interplay (5 discs) (2007)
  • Side Steps (5 discs) (2009)

1956:

1957:

1958:

[edit] Blue Note

1956:

1957:

1958:

[edit] Savoy

1958:

[edit] Atlantic

Coltrane signed a two-year contract with Atlantic Records in 1959. He was the leader of all of these sessions except Bags and Trane and The Avant-Garde, where he was featured with Milt Jackson and Don Cherry respectively. Coltrane made many of his most famous recordings for Atlantic, including Giant Steps and his soprano debut, the popular My Favorite Things. The Heavyweight Champion box collects all of Coltrane’s recordings for Atlantic, including all known outtakes.

Compilations:

1959:

1960:

[edit] Impulse!

Coltrane was the first artist to sign with the new Impulse! Records label which started in 1961 and where he spent the rest of his career. Coltrane was able to release albums as often as he wished (with a minimum of two albums a year). The Classic Quartet box set collects all of the recordings of the quartet of Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. The rest of Coltrane’s Impulse! recordings are not collected.

Compilations:

  • The Best of John Coltrane - His Greatest Years (1970)
  • The Best Of John Coltrane - His Greatest Years, Vol. 2 (1972)
  • The Classic Quartet: The Complete Impulse! Recordings (8 discs)
  • The Impulse Albums: Volume One (5 discs) (2007)
  • The Impulse Albums: Volume Two (5 discs) (2008)
  • The Impulse Albums: Volume Three (5 discs) (2009)
  • My Favorite Things: Coltrane at Newport (2007)

1961:

1962:

1963:

1964:

1965:

1966:

1967:

[edit] Pablo

Pablo Records has posthumously released a number of Coltrane’s live recordings, including the celebrated Afro-Blue Impressions.

[edit] Other labels

Most of the labels listed below have posthumously released live recordings, including releases from foreign labels recorded off the radio.

[edit] Compilations/Boxsets

[edit] Videos

  • Jazz Casual: John Coltrane (1963)
  • The World According to John Coltrane (1990)
  • Coltrane and Cannonball (1998)
  • John Coltrane: A True Innovator (2004)
  • Trane Tracks: The Legacy of John Coltrane (2005)
  • John Coltrane: Impressions of John Coltrane (2006)
  • Impressions of Coltrane (2007)

Besides the appearances listed below, Coltrane made a couple dozen appearances on various European television outlets in the 1960s.

  • The Steve Allen Show – 10/18/1955 mp3
  • The Sounds of Miles Davis – CBS - 1959
  • The Robert Herridge Show– 4/2/1959
  • Sudwestfunk TV Studio – Baden-Baden, West Germany - 11/4/1961

[edit] Albums by year

1946

  • Dexter Culbertson’s U.S. Navy Band (Dexter Culbertson, leader) (4 unnumbered 78s)

1949

1950

1951

1952

  • Earl Bostic and his Orchestra (Earl Bostic, leader) (78)
  • Earl Bostic and his Alto Sax, Vol. 4 (Earl Bostic, leader) (LP)
  • Fat Sam from Birmingham b/w Bittersweet (Gay Crosse, leader) (45)
  • Easy Rockin’ b/w G.C. Rock (Gay Crosse, leader) (45)
  • No Better for You b/w Tired of Being Shoved Around (Gay Crosse, leader) (45)

1954:

  • At a Dance, In the Studio, On the Radio (Johnny Hodges, leader) (78)
  • Used to Be a Duke (Coltrane on 2 tracks only) (1954) (78)

1955:

1956:

1957:

1958:

1959:

1960:

1961:

1962:

1963:

1964:

1965:

1966:

1967:

[edit] External links

[edit] Sources

  • Chasin’ The Trane, J.C. Thomas (Da Capo Paperback, 1975)
  • John Coltrane: His Life and Music, Lewis Porter (The University of Michigan Press, 1999)
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