John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes and was at the forefront of free jazz. He led at least fifty recording sessions and appeared on many albums by other musicians, including trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk. Over the course of his career, Coltrane’s music took on an increasingly spiritual dimension. He remains one of the most influential saxophonists in music history. He received many posthumous awards, including canonization by the African Orthodox Church and a Pulitzer Prize in 2007. His second wife was pianist and harpist Alice Coltrane. The couple had three children: John Jr. (1964–1982), a bassist; Ravi (born 1965), a saxophonist; and Oran (born 1967), also a saxophonist
Standard Coltrane is an album credited to jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1962 on Prestige Records, catalogue 7243. It is assembled from unissued results of a single recording session at the studio of Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1958. As Coltrane’s fame grew during the 1960s long after he had stopped recording for the label, Prestige used unissued recordings to create new marketable albums without Coltrane’s input or approval. This album was rereleased in 1970 as The Master (PR 7825) with that version rereleased on CD to include the other four tunes recorded at the same 11th July session. Those other tunes had previously been released on two other albums assembled from spare recording (Stardust and Bahia).
UK Labels A + B:
John Coltrane had yet to move into his modal post-bop phase in 1958 when he recorded a session for Prestige Records on July 11 with trumpeter/flügelhornist Wilbur Harden, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb, the results of which were issued in 1962 as Standard Coltrane. His groundbreaking modal work with Miles Davis on Kind of Blue was still a few months into the future, which makes this set more historical than vital or transitional, although it’s pleasant enough, featuring Coltrane on several standards, including a ten-plus-minute version of “Invitation.” Other Coltrane material from this 1958 Prestige era ended up on the albums Stardust (1963) and Bahia (1965), and all of it, including these four tracks, has been collected on The Stardust Session from Prestige Records, which is probably the way to go. (by Steve Leggett)
Personnel:
Paul Chambers (bass)
Jimmy Cobb (drums)
John Coltrane (saxophone)
Red Garland (piano)
Wilbur Harden (trumpet, flugelhorn)
Tracklist:
01. Don’t Take Your Love From Me (Nemo) 9.17
02. I’ll Get By (Ahlert/Turk) 8.13
03. Spring Is Here (Hart/Rodgers) 6.57
04. Invitation (Kaper/Webster) 10-21