I have mostly avoided boxed sets when looking for jazz or blues. I think the only box set I ever bought, until now, was the Robert Johnson recordings, because it was the only good edition of his work available. Listen to Malted Milk, and reflect on the story that he died after drinking poisoned whiskey, and see if that doesn't raise the hair on the back of your neck.
But I just got John Coltrane: Fearless Leader. This is a six CD box of Coltrane recordings in 1957 and 58. Coltrane was amazingly prolific in this period. The box includes all the recordings for Prestige on which Trane was the leader. One reason I didn't like boxed sets was that I prefer a CD that bears some resemblance to the original LP, with the same cover art and the same song list. But this box is an excellent piece of work. The material is arranged by recording sessions, beginning with a Friday session on May 31st, 1957, just five days after I was born. A booklet is included that has a "sessionography" listing what was recorded when, and a "discography" describing eleven LPs. It 's a jazz nerd's dream.
This is the period when Trane, fresh off drugs, was coming into his own. It includes some of his most influential albums, like Lush Life and Soultrane. The bands include all the usual suspects like Red Garland, McCoy Tyner, and Donald Byrd. On the first session, Sahib Shihab plays baritone on three numbers. He creates a slithering line over which Coltrane can play. I haven't heard anything else like it.
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