COLTRANE LIVE AT HALF NOTE LP BOX SET

[jazzhound]

Anyone familiar with this box set? I have a line on one and don't know whether to buy or how much to pay. thanks.

[jazzbo]

My brother has had this for years.

Not all from the Half Note if I recollect correctly. All the material has been out elsewhere on bootlegs from Black Label etc.

Not great sound on the lps or elsewhere.

[erhodes]

Anyone familiar with this box set? I have a line on one and don't know whether to buy or how much to pay. thanks.

Depends on what you've already got and what you're trying to get. There are four Half Note sessions from '65. This box has the March 19 date - "Chim Chim Cherre" and "Impressions" - which is fairly rare in commercial issues. The sound is average bootlege mono, similar to the Boris Rose issues (Rose is the ultimate source of this session). Some of Garrison's opening bass solo on "Impressions" is chopped off because the accompanying voice over by Alan Grant was edited out. The May 7 date is also included, also mono, but that has already been issued in stereo in the recent Verve Half Note 2-cd set. The Audio Fidelity box contains the notorious error of two versions of the same piece from this date - "Song of Praise" - with two different titles and slightly different timings...a waste of about 20 minutes playing time. There is a tragically truncated version - 6 minutes vs. 20+ for the entire track - of the "Untitled Original", aka "Creation", from the April 2 date. This is all but useless. The remainder - "I Want to Talk About You" and "One Up, One Down" - come from the February 23, 1963 Birdland date. This has also been issued on various Rose and other boots.

So...you can do much better for the May 7 date and the '63 material is obtainable elsewhere. Between the duplicate May 7 track and the butchered April 2 track there is about 25 minutes of wasted space, a whole side of an lp. IMO, you're really paying for the March 19 date which is essential Trane but...if you can trade for it you might get a more complete version.

Your call.

[Parkertown]

I thought he might be referring to this one:

What the hell are you guys talking about? Label? Catalog number?

The orange one pictured above is great, flat 200 gm vinyl from Classic Records. I think I got mine for around $45. It sounds fantastic, even with a 29 minute Side 1.

Edited December 29, 2006 by Parkertown

[jazzbo]

We're talking about an lp box set on the Audio Fidelity label released in the eighties I think.

[brownie]

This is a 3-LP box 'John Coltrane Quartet Live at the Half Note' which was released in 1984 on the Audiofidelity label.

Ed Rhodes gave an excellent description of the content.

[Parkertown]

Thanks guys...sorry if I was harsh...

[jazzhound]

thanks for the info Ed!