Traneing In, 1957 - Coltrane, backed by Paul Chambers, Art Taylor, and Red Garland...what more could you ask for. The title track of this album is one of the best jazz songs ever. Coltrane is perfectly "inducted" into the album, and Red Garland's trio at the 3:33 mark. Around the time of Blue Train, the first Coltrane album I ever heard, this album took an incredibly straight forward approach and could still shine amongst the most unique.
Ole Coltrane, 1961 - Dolphy, ELVIN FUCKING JONES, McCoy Tyner, and little Freddie Hubbard. His final Atlantic album would clock in some characteristically long, modal jazz. Ole stands in the dark compared to Giant Steps or My Favorite Things, but this albums four tracks package a multitude of emotions so perfectly.
Ascension, 1965 - If there was a Year of the Trane, it would be '65. A Love Supreme was released in February, and come June 3 tenors (including the king himself), 2 altos (free jazz giants Pharaoh and Archie), 2 bassists, 2 trumpets, a pianist, a drummer, 2 drums, intense solo sections. Two years later, liver cancer would kill him, but not without this last gasp of intensity, Ascension is a culmination of the sound he worked for and is him being set free amongst the jazz world.
Interstellar Space, 1972 - Recorded 5 months before his death, Interstellar Space would not be released until '72, but his work with Rashied Ali was no new thing. Ali, along with increasingly more free/African influenced musicians, would continue to influence Coltrane and his music. Coltrane inducts us into each track with bells, and then Ali picks up a drum beat followed by a frenzied theme, but in that warm, well-rounded Coltrane horn sound.
Live at Birdland, 1963 - A seminal live jazz album, Coltrane here, playing the first three tracks at the Birdland Club, I Want to Talk About You is one of the best examples of Coltrane using the tenor to have a literal conversation. And then there's Alabama, one of the most overlooked Coltrane tracks, about the KKK bombing in Birmingham.
