John Coltrane INTERPLAY up for pre-order

[Big Al]

Here's the link, corrected to link it through Organissimo:

Interplay

The following albums are represented on this collection:

Prestige All-Stars: Tenor Conclave

Prestige All-Stars: Interplay For 2 Trumpets And 2 Tenors

Prestige All-Stars: The Cats*

John Coltrane: Dakar

Cattin' w/Coltrane & Quinichette**

Prestige All-Stars: Wheelin' & Dealin'

John Coltrane & Kenny Burrell

*The trio track "How Long Has This Been Going On" is not on this set

**The Quinichette quartet tracks are not on this set

I'm kinda bummed that the aforementioned sessions are not represented in their entirety; I understand WHY they're not on there, since Coltrane doesn't play on any of those tracks. Still, there is plenty of room on disc five for these tracks, so there isn't any real reason NOT to include these tracks.

Edited March 17, 2008 by Big Al

[Cliff Englewood]

I love the "Fearless Leader" set but I'm not too sure i'll go for this one. Unless of course Ljazz is having another sale.

[mgraham333]

Always happy to help with an Organissimo-supporting LINK

[Big Al]

Always happy to help with an Organissimo-supporting LINK

Thanks! I just updated my original post with the URL info.

[etherbored]

[GA Russell]

That picture makes Coltrane look like Kevin Eubanks!

[mikeweil]

So this and the fearless leader set still do not replicate the complete contents of the previous Prestige box: The Dameron date is missing (RVG) and the Elmo Hope and Ray Draper dates.

The big box also skipped the aforementioned tracks without Coltrane - maybe they used the same masters? At least they copied the concept without much thought.

Edited August 23, 2007 by mikeweil

[Chuck Nessa]

So this and the fearless leader set still do not replicate the complete contents of the previous Prestige box: The Dameron date is missing (RVG) and the Elmo Hope and Ray Draper dates.

The big box also skipped the aforementioned tracks without Coltrane - maybe they used the same masters? At least they copied the concept without much thought.

They originally stated there would be 3 boxes in the new series. The last should be "sideman" dates.

[Spontooneous]

Shoulda called this one "Fearless Co-Leader."

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

chewy states:

THIS SET IS COMPLETE BULLSHIT. John Coltrane Complete Prestige Recordings (sans miles) 16 cd-set: why mess with perfection? So its a little threatening at sixteen cds in a box, but this is trane, isn't 16 not ENOUGH?

i understand why they thought this might be a good idea but chewy was TELLING YOU GUYS FROM DAY ONE, that this whole concord thing was going to be a mess. They've locked up the masters in deep long-term storage, reissued Cookin' with miles 400 times in a row, chopped up the trane box, have they done super new super cool super remastered versions of the CCR stuff yet? or did that go to deep storage right next to Arnett Cobb and Bob Cooper and Sonny Criss and Curits Counce, and other great jazz artists whos names have a "C" and to save you the trouble, no, i did not infer ccr are "jazz", lol

[king ubu]

Great news to me! I love the "Fearless Leader" box and don't have the big 16 CD set... here's hope the third box will materialize, too, eventually (though I gather this here has been in the pipeline during the Concord takeover, which might not be the case with the third one and hence they may just have dropped that plan).

Anyway, looking forward to this!

Edit: the missing tracks are a letdown, though... I'll keep my "Cats" and "Cattin'" discs, then...

The third box would also have the (partial, in that case) Ammons date (or would they include long jams where Trane may blow on the theme and nowhere else? I doubt that) and the one(s?) with Mal Waldron, I assume.

Edited August 24, 2007 by king ubu

[felser]

chewy states:

THIS SET IS COMPLETE BULLSHIT. John Coltrane Complete Prestige Recordings (sans miles) 16 cd-set: why mess with perfection? So its a little threatening at sixteen cds in a box, but this is trane, isn't 16 not ENOUGH?

i understand why they thought this might be a good idea but chewy was TELLING YOU GUYS FROM DAY ONE, that this whole concord thing was going to be a mess. They've locked up the masters in deep long-term storage, reissued Cookin' with miles 400 times in a row, chopped up the trane box, have they done super new super cool super remastered versions of the CCR stuff yet? or did that go to deep storage right next to Arnett Cobb and Bob Cooper and Sonny Criss and Curits Counce, and other great jazz artists whos names have a "C" and to save you the trouble, no, i did not infer ccr are "jazz", lol

A spectacular complete CCR box set with crisp remastering and Golliwogs rarities disc came out a few years ago. No need to redo it. The 16 CD Trane has 20 year old mastering and bulky packaging. I loved 'Fearless Leader' and look forward to the new one, even though I have the 16 CD set. That being said, you're right, the Concord thing isn't going to go well. Chuck already explained a while ago that they got rid of the people who were doing the box sets, so we have 'Miles for Lovers Volume 764' and the Peter Keepnews Fondly Remembers His Father Who Isn't Yet Dead Edition of Cookin' With Miles to "look forward" to, and that's about it.

Edited August 24, 2007 by felser

[Big Al]

chewy states:

THIS SET IS COMPLETE BULLSHIT. John Coltrane Complete Prestige Recordings (sans miles) 16 cd-set: why mess with perfection? So its a little threatening at sixteen cds in a box, but this is trane, isn't 16 not ENOUGH?

i understand why they thought this might be a good idea but chewy was TELLING YOU GUYS FROM DAY ONE, that this whole concord thing was going to be a mess. They've locked up the masters in deep long-term storage, reissued Cookin' with miles 400 times in a row, chopped up the trane box, have they done super new super cool super remastered versions of the CCR stuff yet? or did that go to deep storage right next to Arnett Cobb and Bob Cooper and Sonny Criss and Curits Counce, and other great jazz artists whos names have a "C" and to save you the trouble, no, i did not infer ccr are "jazz", lol

A spectacular complete CCR box set with crisp remastering and Golliwogs rarities disc came out a few years ago. No need to redo it. The 16 CD Trane has 20 year old mastering and bulky packaging. I loved 'Fearless Leader' and look forward to the new one, even though I have the 16 CD set. That being said, you're right, the Concord thing isn't going to go well. Chuck already explained a while ago that they got rid of the people who were doing the box sets, so we have 'Miles for Lovers Volume 764' and the Peter Keepnew Fondly Remembers His Father Who Isn't Yet Dead Edition of Cookin' With Miles to "look forward" to, and that's about it.

I can't help but think you're absolutely right about this, but I hope not. Still gonna get the new box, though.

[Swinging Swede]

So why did they at all buy Fantasy in the first place? What hasn't gone according to plans?

[felser]

From the Concord site:

NEWS 27 Aug 2007

Prestige Records Releases Interplay, A Remarkable 5 CD Box Set of John Coltrane’s Early Collaborative Sessions Available September 18, 2007

Interplay, Prestige Records’ new 5-CD set, containing early collaborative recordings of the peerless tenor saxophonist and visionary John Coltrane serves two distinct purposes. The first is to offer an extraordinary collection of music that provides an excellent overview of the modern jazz scene during the fertile 1956-1958 period. The other – and arguably more important purpose to the legions of Coltrane faithful – is its rich delineation of the evolutionary process behind one of the most profoundly important and emotionally compelling artists this planet has ever seen.

With all great musicians, the message is fully contained in the music, and the message of John Coltrane is one of powerful humanism, deep spirituality, unflinching emotion, relentless searching and supreme love. Interplay offers a most revealing roadmap to the early days of discovery in his unparalleled quest. One can misinterpret the astonishing focus and commitment that Coltrane had as being singular or even self-absorbed; but that is totally off-base. Coltrane was incredibly multi-faceted, a man of many interests in the pursuit of knowledge – both subjective and objective – who absorbed everything in his vision. In these recordings, surrounded by many of the finest musicians of the era, the listener can actually experience directly how Trane responds to his colleagues, transforming his own musical concepts to perfectly contribute to each environment in which he finds himself.

Despite his powerfully distinctive tone, with its molten emotional flesh-and-blood core that always contradicted the horn’s metallic substance, his presence on these recordings never diminishes the contributions of his collaborators. Like a great basketball player, his stunning talents bring out the best in his teammates, lifting the music to a level of transcendence beyond its genre. It’s the same game, but at a higher level within the imposed confines of the rules of order that govern it.

Interplay is comprised of seven complete albums and three tracks from two others. All but one of the recording sessions took place between September of 1956 and September of 1957; the final one in March of 1958. In the prevalent style of this period, the sessions all contain a certain jam session context; and in fact, five of the albums were released without any specified leader – Tenor Conclave, Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors, The Cats, Wheelin’ & Dealin’ and Modern Jazz Survey 2 (reissued as Dakar under Coltrane’s name). The other two – Cattin’ with Coltrane and Quinichette, essentially a jam session “co-led” by Trane and Paul Quinichette; and Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane, Trane’s last Prestige date not under his own leadership – retained the basic jam session feel. But actually, piano great Tommy Flanagan directed The Cats, and the brilliant pianist/composer Mal Waldron was not only musical director for Interplay and Wheelin’ & Dealin’, but his presence on Dakar and Cattin’ also provided much of the cohesiveness to those dates. (The alternate versions of Wheelin’ and Dealin’ contained here were originally issued on Mal’s The Dealers.)

Waldron also contributed 12 of the 34 compositions contained in this set, and performs on 20. Red Garland (5) and Tommy Flanagan (8) are the only other pianists. Waldron and Garland had considerable impact on Coltrane. Mal’s tension-filled, edge-of-your-seat-excitement solo style and Red’s blues drenched lyricism remained with Trane for the rest of his days. Garland was also Trane’s bandmate in the Miles Davis Quintet during this time, and was his pianist of choice on all of his Prestige dates as leader.

The consistency of the other rhythm section members throughout this set also add to the cohesion and continuity that make it so much more than simply a collection of outstanding music. Paul Chambers and Doug Watkins share the bass duties for all but four tracks (Julian Euell handles those). Legendary drummer Art Taylor is on 21 tracks (including one track culled from his own Taylor’s Wailers album), with three other drum masters – Jimmy Cobb, Louis Hayes and Ed Thigpen – sharing the remainder. Guitarist Kenny Burrell brings his formidable talents to eight tracks as a sideman in addition to the five under his co-leadership.

One unusual element contained in Interplay is hearing Trane in the company of so many other hornmen. Normally, he recorded as the sole horn, sometimes with one other soloist and on one occasion with two. Here, he is one of three or four horns on more than half the tracks, including five exceptional tenor saxophonists. In addition to Quinichette on Cattin’ and Wheelin & Dealin’, hard-bop titan Hank Mobley and the renowned tandem of Al Cohn and Zoot Sims comprise the titular Tenor Conclave; and Belgian-born Bobby Jaspar performs on Interplay. Hearing Trane’s interaction with tenor players (excluding Mobley) so steeped in the lyrical Lester Young style is particularly revealing and testimony to Coltrane’s own beautiful approach to lyricism.

The amazingly nimble and lyrical flute of Frank Wess is heavily featured on Wheelin’ & Dealin’. Two excellent but underrated trumpeters – Webster Young and Idrees Sulieman – are on Interplay, with Sulieman also participating as one of The Cats. Much of Dakar’s unusual and uniquely attractive context comes from the presence of a pair of baritone sax masters, Cecil Payne and the incredible Pepper Adams. Another item of particular interest is hearing Coltrane with a guitarist. While it’s relatively unknown that Trane had considered adding Wes Montgomery to his quartet in 1960, he never used a guitar in his own groups. The five tracks sharing the front line with Burrell are made even more fascinating by the inclusion of their sensitive duet on Why Was I Born, the only known duet recording Trane ever made with a chordal instrument.

The repertoire in Interplay covers a lot of ground, combining Great American Songbook Standards (How Deep Is the Ocean, I Never Knew, Why Was I Born) with Jazz classics(Things Ain’t What They Used to Be, Robbins’ Nest) and originals by Flanagan, Mobley, Burrell, Jimmy Heath, Teddy Charles and Waldron, including a 17+ minute version of his gorgeous Soul Eyes.

From the biographical/historical perspective it’s important to realize that at the time of these recordings Coltrane was in the midst of his legendary stint with Thelonious Monk at the Five Spot, had just rejoined the Miles Davis Quintet and was embarking upon a personal realization and spiritual awakening that would take him to heights of immortality unapproachable by any but the most extraordinary of human beings. His evolution and development over the next – and final – ten years of his life are without equal in both prolificacy and progressiveness. To this very day, his impact upon musicians, artists of all disciplines, and individuals in all walks of life has been not only extreme, but in many ways, of biblical proportion.

Interplay represents a highly significant early stage of that process. Even in its raw youthfulness, that fascinating combination of lyrical beauty and serenity juxtaposed against relentless exploration and passionate intensity was always at play. For those who have embraced his journey, these early recordings are revelatory and essential in understanding what came later. For those who just love great jazz, Interplay is pure pleasure.

Following up on Prestige’s heavily acclaimed 6-CD set Fearless Leader, which collected all of Coltrane’s Prestige recordings as leader, Interplay is beautifully produced by Patrick Milligan and Cheryl Pawelski, featuring an extensive 60 page booklet with liner notes by noted historian Nat Hentoff, album notes by reputed Coltrane scholar Lewis Porter, the original album notes, and many rare photographs. The original sessions, produced by Bob Weinstock (except for Dakar by Teddy Charles) and recorded by the peerless Rudy Van Gelder have been remastered by Fantasy Studios’ master engineer Joe Tarantino for the maximum in audio quality.

[king ubu]

just in case, if the third box would happen, it would include:

- parts of the Gene Ammons "Groove Blues" / "The Big Sound" session

- the Tadd Dameron album

- the loooooong session with Red Garland ("Soul Junction" etc. - four albums - are they all with Coltrane? or is he only on a few tracks on each?)

- the date(s) with Mal Waldron

what else?

[Niko]

just in case, if the third box would happen, it would include:

- parts of the Gene Ammons "Groove Blues" / "The Big Sound" session

- the Tadd Dameron album

- the loooooong session with Red Garland ("Soul Junction" etc. - four albums - are they all with Coltrane? or is he only on a few tracks on each?)

- the date(s) with Mal Waldron

what else?

what MikeWeill mentioned above, the sessions with Draper and Elmo Hope

[king ubu]

just in case, if the third box would happen, it would include:

- parts of the Gene Ammons "Groove Blues" / "The Big Sound" session

- the Tadd Dameron album

- the loooooong session with Red Garland ("Soul Junction" etc. - four albums - are they all with Coltrane? or is he only on a few tracks on each?)

- the date(s) with Mal Waldron

what else?

what MikeWeill mentioned above, the sessions with Draper and Elmo Hope

and that's all? would be a nice set, I should think...

[Niko]

just in case, if the third box would happen, it would include:

- parts of the Gene Ammons "Groove Blues" / "The Big Sound" session

- the Tadd Dameron album

- the loooooong session with Red Garland ("Soul Junction" etc. - four albums - are they all with Coltrane? or is he only on a few tracks on each?)

- the date(s) with Mal Waldron

what else?

what MikeWeill mentioned above, the sessions with Draper and Elmo Hope

and that's all? would be a nice set, I should think...

brief glance at jazzdisco discography, only other thing i see is Tenor Madness with Rollins (guess i am the last person who doesn't have that...) seems like a great set... (Garland is two sessions...)

[mikeweil]

From the Concord site:

NEWS 27 Aug 2007

Prestige Records Releases Interplay, A Remarkable 5 CD Box Set of John Coltrane’s Early Collaborative Sessions Available September 18, 2007

...... have been remastered by Fantasy Studios’ master engineer Joe Tarantino for the maximum in audio quality.

Tarrantino had remastered the 16 CD box - I reckon they used his remastering, which sounds fine to these ears.

I'm glad I have the big box - that two Ammons tracks and one Flanagan tro track were missing was hard enough for me. But this scattered multiple box business now .....

[king ubu]

I was too late for the Trane box at 2001... and "Fearless Leader" is a great set - definitely nicer than the small cube-box ZYX editions... and it's great that the original liners are all there, also cover reproductions in colour (if ZYX booklets had that, it was badly-copied b/w scans, about 1 x 1 millimeter or so... the Pepper Galaxy is one of the worst jobs in that respect, Evans Fantasy not much behind).

Anyway, it's about the music, of course, and if I had the large box, I'd never have thought of getting "Fearless Leader", but now I want the new one, too... I guess you know how it goes!

[trane_fanatic]

So glad I got the old 16-disc box in the blowout sale. Some of the finest early CD era mastering I've ever heard.

[felser]

So glad I got the old 16-disc box in the blowout sale. Some of the finest early CD era mastering I've ever heard.

I have the set on now. It's really a beautifully done box, and it was $45.97 shipped for a five CD set from Amazon. In addition to the Dameron, Elmo Hope, and Ray Draper sessions, it's also missing the Red Garland sessions. Hope the third box with those sessions sees the light of day. This and 'Fearless Leader' were obviously labors of love.

[porcy62]

I've got the Big Box, bulky, but decent sounding. Frankly I'd buy instead some expensive "audiophile" vinyl reissues, like Hoffman's 45rpm, or the original pressings. The trap of "digitally remastered" got me once with RVG's cds, it will never got me again, but if you don't have the Big Box, well...the music is great.

[Face of the Bass]

I've got the Big Box, bulky, but decent sounding. Frankly I'd buy instead some expensive "audiophile" vinyl reissues, like Hoffman's 45rpm, or the original pressings. The trap of "digitally remastered" got me once with RVG's cds, it will never got me again, but if you don't have the Big Box, well...the music is great.

I bought the 16-disc box as well, but found that it's bulk meant that I never listened to it. So I've been getting these smaller boxes and am much more pleased. More easily digested music, and the sound is better. But more power to anyone who can dive into a 16-cd box.