John Coltrane: Blue World Vinyl LP

More unreleased Trane! In a weird, bold, unexplained move by 1964 standards, John Coltrane’s “Naima” serves as the opening theme for Gilles Groulx’s Le chat dans le sac, an underground art house hit which played a seminal role in the development of Quebec cinema, produced by the National Film Board of Canada (ahem, the same one whose later films of the 70s and 80s would serve as the main inspiration for Boards Of Canada). Several other well-known Trane tunes play throughout the film, and until recently, it was assumed by everyone - Coltrane historians, family, Impulse label personnel - that the filmmaker had simply licensed existing recordings of the songs. However, it has since been revealed that Coltrane and his classic quartet (Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison) recorded these versions at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio specifically for the film, and not only do they appear here on physical format for the first time ever, they’re supplemented with previously unheard alternate takes from the sessions. Includes an abridged version of “Out Of This World” (here titled “Blue World”) from Coltrane, “Traneing In” from the album of the same name, “Like Sonny” from Coltrane Jazz, three versions of “Village Blues” and two versions of “Naima,” which are the only known versions recorded with the classic quartet. Cut from the original 1/4” analog master tapes, recommended.

• black vinyl pressing
• housed in full color printed inner sleeve w/ liner notes
• previously unreleased, newly discovered music from John Coltrane
• recorded in 1964 between Crescent & A Love Supreme
• mastered from original analog tape
• music label: Impulse! 2019

reviewed by nick nightingale 09/2019