Fantastic package, great value
M. Bauer | Colorado | 10/07/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This set is fantastic on a variety of levels.
1. Performances: While some call Coltrane's Prestige albums "emergent" or "formative", keep in mind that he was already thirty years old, had recently kicked heroin and alcohol, and was finishing his definitive work with Thelonious Monk when he began these sessions. While the settings are more traditional, he was covering a ton of new ground at this point. Volumes have been written about this music, so I won't go on and on. Suffice it to say that there is a lot of fantastic jazz to be found in these Prestige sessions.
2. Sound: Rudy Van Gelder is legendary for a reason. His recording techniques were superb, and benefit greatly from the new 24 bit mastering in this set.
3. Packaging: As the other reviewer noted, there must have been a typo in the Amazon reviewer's use of the term "subpar". The six CDs are packaged in a beautiful box, an extremely informative booklet includes excellent analysis by Lewis Porter, autor of the definitive Coltrane biography "John Coltrane, His Life and Music", and concludes the cover art and original liner notes from each of the albums represented in this box.
4. Value: Earlier CD versions of all 11 original albums included in this box are still available individually, often at prices of $11.95 a piece or higher. That's $132 for older versions lacking the 24 bit mastering and excellent booklet.... makes the decision easy when Amazon's price for the box is $53.99, and some Amazon partners have it even cheaper.
All in all, this is not one to pass up.
Highly recommended."
These albums changed my life
William E Donoghue | Healdsburg CA USA | 10/10/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"During the late 1950's I was a college student going through the usual college age angst. I was also music director of WLR and WLRN at Lehigh University in Bethlehem PA, the rare college station which was fully-provided with sample of all Prestige and Blue Note records. I had a late jazz night radio show "NightSounds" and played the classic records of John Coltrane, Miles and others every night from 12-2 AM. When I was depressed, I would play these very records by John Coltrane and get lost in their unique beauty. Later in 1965, I got to see John Coltrane play a matinee at The Showboat with his '60s quintet. I walked in and he was playing "My Favorite Things" and two hours later I walked out he was playing the same song but his sound was too advanced for me to identify with. It took my mind a decade to catch up with him. But these records touch my sould to this day and I play them still. These are the best of his '50s recording. The presence of Red Garland's bluesy piano, Freddie Hubbard's trumpet, Paul Chambers amazing bass and Art Taylor and Philly Joe Jones on drums adds depth to this music that will never be lost. Buy This set and play it late at night or in your car."
All of Trane's Prestige Releases as a Leader
Talking Wall | Queen Creek, AZ | 01/11/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Listen: This is a great, great box set. If you are like me (a musician) who wants to learn everything there is to learn about the greatest music ever played by Americans then you need to hear this stuff. I have a real passion for the music of Miles and Trane, I want to hear and understand ALL of it.
Now Trane's career can be a tad confusing to some, especially those just getting to know the man's music. It's easy to pick something up that you just aren't ready for yet. Many think that Trane was... not quite up to the intensity he is/was know for when he was recording for Prestige. That's sheer nonsense. In fact, it was during 1958, when these recordings were made, that Ira Gitler coined the term 'sheets of sound' to describe Coltrane's approach to playing. That same searching, desperate, blues-filled, penetrating sound is all over these discs. This is Trane recording as a leader during 1957 and 1958 - the same time he was just moving out of Monk's quartet and going back to Miles' band (now a sextet) and all the incredible music that group released like "Milestones" and "Kind of Blue". The music is mostly classics, standards, and covers but there are also several original compositions included in this body of work.
To be sure, Trane hadn't quite escaped the gravitational pull of the earth and tradition but his playing on this box set is awe-inspiring and jaw dropping none-the-less.
In the boxset, you get Trane's entire 11 album Prestige catalog for the sessions where he was the leader. Note that there are Prestige CDs out there that bear the Coltrane name where Trane was really a side man - but this box set does not include any of that material - you find that stuff on the Interplay boxset.
The boxset is beautifully packaged. The 68 page booklet is full of photos of Trane and all the accompanying players including Freddie Hubbard (this boxset includes the very first session Freddie Hubbard was ever involved in), Paul Chambers, Red Garland, Donald Byrd, Jimmy Cobb, Mal Waldron, and many other "known" stars from that era. There are also shots of all of the original Lp sleeves, a session-ography that cross references the tunes recorded on each date with the Lp they were originally released on.
Personally, I think the price is a real steal here at Amazon (though I did manage to get lucky and score a new copy for about 1/3 less on that auction site we all know about).
If you are a big fan of John Coltrane or a student of the man's career, you are going to want to pick this up. You cannot understand Trane's career without studying this this music. It's all great stuff!"
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1