John Coltrane - The 1962 Graz Concert [Complete Edition] (2015)

The classic John Coltrane Quartet's long unavailable 1962 concert in Graz, Austria in its entirety.

One of its many highlights is Coltrane's only known recording of “Autumn Leaves”. Although the tune was part of the Miles Davis Quintet's repertoire, Trane would never record it with or without Miles, with the exception of this Graz performance. Includes 8-page booklet.

In mid-November 1962, the John Coltrane quartet began a new European tour. Fortunately, many concerts from that tour were recorded by local radio stations and devoted fans. This double set contains the complete Graz concert, which only previously appeared in its entirety on a long out of print edition more than a decade ago. The program represents Coltrane's typical repertoire during the period, including extended versions of his own originals “Mr. PC” and “Impressions”, as well as readings of his usual choice standards “The Inchworm”, “Every Time We Say Goodbye”, “I Want to Know About You”, and his hit “My Favorite Things”. Coltrane had been playing Cole Porter's “Bye Bye Blackbird” with the Miles Davis Quintet in the mid-fifties, and he revived the tune with his quartet for this European tour. The most unusual tune here, however, is the French classic “Autumn Leaves”. Although this was a typical tune from the Miles Davis repertoire, Miles would never record it with Coltrane. The trumpeter's first recording of “Autumn Leaves” was made in 1958, for the Cannonball Adderley Quintet's celebrated album Something Else. Miles revived the tune for his 1960 quintet after Coltrane left the band (Sonny Stitt was chosen as his first replacement, followed by Hank Mobley and George Coleman a shortly after). Coltrane would never record “Autumn Leaves” in the studio. In fact, according to all discographies and sessionographies, the Graz recording is Coltrane's only existing version of the song.

NOTE: This recording comes from historical tapes. Although the sound quality is very good throughout, some small tape imperfections are noticeable, especially during “Impressions”. Every effort has been made to restore them using advanced technologies, but a few couldn't be corrected without affecting this important music.