[Review] John Coltrane With The Red Garland Trio (1958)

One of the most exciting of Coltrane’s Prestige sessions, featuring what was now being billed as the Red Garland Trio.

Kronomyth 5.0: You are the breathless hush of evening that trembles on the brink of a lovely song.

John Coltrane doesn’t make an appearance until three-and-a-half minutes into Traneing In but, once he does, you won’t be able to take your eyes (and ears) off him. Maybe it’s a Miles thing, this art of anticipation, or simply a smart way to introduce the band before Trane comes rushing in. At first, Trane insinuates himself into the music carefully; within moments, however, your brain is being bombarded with beautiful clusters of fluttering notes that flow effortlessly, and you realize that it’s you (and not Coltrane) who is left breathless. The sax stops, Red Garland plays something lively and tasteful, and you quietly crave your next encounter with Coltrane; a second course arrives, and you’re satisfied again.

The next track, Slow Dance, is one of those flawless, impossibly smooth ballads. Technically and emotionally, Trane could go where other players couldn’t. Bass Blues, a Coltrane original, is notable for the bowed bass solo from Paul Chambers in the middle. Every bass players does this bit sooner or later; few have done it with as much soul as Chambers does here. You Leave Me Breathless is another brilliant ballad, impossibly smooth, Coltrane incapable of hitting an inconsequential or unremarkable note; he leaves the realm of the mortal and becomes epic, heroic. The closing Soft Lights And Sweet Music is anything but; it’s a tempest of tempo that pushes the whole quartet to the brink of exhaustion. The last thing you hear is the sound of someone in the group saying “whew.” Yeah, I couldn’t have put it better myself. [Note: In 1961, the album was re-packaged as Traneing In, and this is the version that has been re-issued most often over the years.]

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Original LP version

A1. Traneing In (John Coltrane) (12:30)
A2. Slow Dance (Alonzo Levister) (5:26)
B1. Bass Blues (John Coltrane) (7:42)
B2. You Leave Me Breathless (Frederick Hollander/Ralph Freed) (7:22)
B3. Soft Lights And Sweet Music (Irving Berlin) (4:40)

Trane of August ‘57 bonus track
6. Slowtrane

The Players

John Coltrane (tenor sax), Paul Chambers (bass), Red Garland (piano), Arthur Taylor (drums). Supervised by Bob Weinstock.

The Pictures

Liner notes by Ira Gitler.

The Plastic

Released on mono elpee in March 1958* in the US (Prestige, 7123). (*First appeared in 3/31/58 issue of Billboard.)

1. Re-packaged as Traneing In on mono elpee in 1961 in the US (Prestige, 7123).
2. Re-packaged (as Traneing In) on stereo remastered elpee in the US (Prestige, PRT 7651) with unique cover.
3. Re-released (as Traneing In) on remastered compact disc in 1987 in the US (Original Jazz Classics, OJCCD-189-2).
4. Re-issued on elpee in Japan (Prestige, LPR-88023).
5. Re-issued (as Traneing In) on cassette in France (Prestige/Carrere, 78 374).
6. Re-released (as Traneing In) on 24k gold compact disc in 1996 in the US (DCC, GZS-1098).
7. Re-released (as Traneing In) on 20-bit K2 remastered compact disc on June 21, 2006 in Japan (Prestige, VICJ-41513).
8. Re-packaged (as Trane of August ‘57) on expanded 180g vinyl elpee in 2009 in Europe (Doxy, DOX826 LP) with 1 bonus track.
9. Re-issued (as Traneing In) on elpee in 2010 in the US (Original Jazz Classics, 189).
10. Re-released (as Traneing In) on 140g virgin vinyl elpee in 2013 in the UK (DOL, DOL731).
11. Re-released on hybrid mono super audio compact disc on January 7, 2014 in the US (Analogue Productions, CPRJ 7123 SA) and on 200g vinyl elpee on January 10, 2014 in the US (Analogue Productions).
12. Re-released (as Traneing In) on 45 rpm 2LP in the US (Analogue Productions, AJAZ 7123).
13. Re-issued on expanded 180g vinyl elpee on October 3, 2016 in Spain (Jazz Wax, JWR 4579) with different cover and 1 bonus track.