JOHN COLTRANE: IN THE WINNER'S CIRCLE (180 GRAM VINYL LP)

Rare stuff from John Coltrane! The album features Trane playing tenor on only 4 of the album’s 8 tracks – making it kind of surprising that they used his name in the title – but the album is a lesser-known batch of large group recordings that offer an interesting early chapter in his career! The main force behind the album is arranger Harry Tubbs – possibly not a name that’s as sexy as John Coltrane, hence the billing – but a worthy leader for the date, given the quality of the music.

Many of the other players here are small combo heroes who can also shine brightly in bigger groups – such as Donald Byrd and Art Farmer on trumpets, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Al Cohn on baritone sax, Eddie Costa on piano and vibes, and Oscar Pettiford on bass – plus Rolf Kuhn, making an early American appearance on clarinet. Coltrane gets in some nice, but short moments on the date – but the bigger charm is the full ensemble work – on titles that include “She Didn’t Say Yes”, “Turtle Walk”, “At Home With The Blues”, “Seabreeze”, and “Love & The Weather”.

Recorded in New York, September & October, 1957

SIDE A
A1. Lazy Afternoon
A2. Not So Sleepy
A3. Seabreeze
A4. Love And The Weather
SIDE B
B1. She Didn't Say Yes
B2. If I'm Lucky (I'll Be The One)
B3. At Home With The Blues
B4. Turtle Walk