John Coltrane

John Coltrane on vinyl: from Prestige to “A Love Supreme”

In short: John Coltrane changed jazz like hardly any other saxophonist. In just over ten years his path led from hard bop on Prestige and in Miles Davis’ quintet via “Giant Steps” and “My Favorite Things” on Atlantic to “A Love Supreme” on Impulse!. The Vinyl Room currently has 20 Coltrane records from all these periods.

What makes John Coltrane special?

In the mid-fifties Coltrane played in Miles Davis’ quintet and at the same time recorded a lot for Prestige – in our stock, for example, “All Mornin’ Long” with Red Garland, “Mating Call” with Tadd Dameron and “Tenor Conclave” with Hank Mobley, Zoot Sims and Al Cohn. At Atlantic he found his own way: “Giant Steps” with its fast chord changes, “My Favorite Things” with the soprano saxophone, and “Olé Coltrane”.

From 1961 he recorded for Impulse!. This is where the Village Vanguard recordings were made and “A Love Supreme” – recorded in December 1964 with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones, released in 1965 and one of the most important jazz albums of all. In 2018 “Both Directions At Once” even brought a lost album from 1963.

First pressing or later edition?

Coltrane’s Prestige recordings were reissued again and again, often in compilations such as “Coltranology” or “...More Lasting Than Bronze”. Where we can identify a first pressing for sure, it is marked with the copy. How to check it yourself is shown in our guide “How to spot a first pressing”.

From our stock

First pressings

Hard bop

Modal & post bop

→ Miles Davis · Prestige · Atlantic · Hard bop · How to spot a first pressing

FAQ

What is John Coltrane’s best-known album? “A Love Supreme” (1965), along with “Giant Steps” (1960) and “My Favorite Things” (1961).

Which labels did John Coltrane record for? Mainly Prestige, Atlantic and Impulse!, plus “Blue Train” on Blue Note.

What is “Both Directions At Once”? An album of 1963 recordings that were long thought lost and came out in 2018.

Which Coltrane records do you have? Fifties Prestige recordings, Atlantic albums like “My Favorite Things” and Impulse! albums like “A Love Supreme” – 20 records in all.