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John Coltrane - The Heavyweight Champion - The Complete Atlantic Recordings (CD4) (1995)

Track listing:
  1. Village Blues 5:23
  2. Village Blues (Alternate Take) 6:17
  3. My Favorite Things 13:44
  4. Central Park West 4:14
  5. Mr. Syms 5:22
  6. Untitled Original (Exotica) 5:22
  7. Summertime 11:34
  8. Body And Soul 5:38
  9. Body And Soul (Alternate Take) 5:59
  10. Mr. Knight 7:31

Notes

EAC FLAC -8

Jan 15, 1959 - May 25, 1961

The Heavyweight Champion is a box set that lives up to its title. Collecting all of John Coltrane's Atlantic recordings, including a fair number of unreleased takes as well as an entire disc of alternate tracks and studio chatter, the seven-disc box set documents a pivotal moment in Coltrane's career, as he was moving from hard bop and sweet standards to a more daring, experimental style of playing influenced by the avant-garde. Much of the music is hard bop (Giant Steps) or lushly melodic (My Favorite Things), but the latter discs show the saxophonist coming to terms with the more experimental movements in jazz. The scope of this music is, quite simply, breathtaking -- not only was Coltrane developing at a rapid speed, but the resulting music encompasses nearly every element that made him a brilliant musician, and it is beautiful.