| The classic John Coltrane Quartet’s complete
long unavailable concert in Stuttgart on
November 3, 1963, for the first time ever on
a single set.
Two of the songs, “Impressions” and
“Mr. P.C.”, totaling more than an hour of
music, have never previously appeared in
any format.
We have completed this set with the only
known track (also previously unissued) from
the concert given by the same formation at
Salle Pleyel, in Paris, two days before the
Stuttgart performance.
By 1962, the John Coltrane Quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones
was a solid musical unit. For a while, in 1961 and early 1962, the quartet evolved into a
quintet with the addition of reedman Eric Dolphy. This quintet (with Reggie Workman on
bass) had visited Europe in November 1961. In mid-November 1962, the quartet (minus
Dolphy; with Garrison on bass) began a new European tour. The same quartet would
tour Europe again the following year. The 1963 tour took place right after Coltrane’s
separation from his wife, Naima. Coltrane toured Europe without Naima in
October/November 1963. Again, live recordings would be made, this time in Stockholm
(October 22, 1963), Copenhagen (October 25), Paris (November 1), Berlin (November
2) & Stuttgart (November 4). This double set contains the complete Stuttgart performance,
the last preserved concert from that 1963 tour. It was recorded at Stuttgart’s Liederhalle,
where Coltrane had been recorded with Dolphy on November 29, 1961 (three tracks
survive from that performance). The program was typical of Coltrane’s repertoire during
that period, including extended versions of his own originals “Mr. P.C.” and “Impressions”
(both of which were previously unissued), as well as readings of the oft-performed
standards “Every Time We Say Goodbye”, “I Want to Know About You”, and his hit “My
Favorite Things”. As a bonus, we have added another previously unissued performance,
a reading of Coltrane’s own “Chasin’ the Trane” recorded by the same group at Salle
Pleyel, in Paris, two days before the Stuttgart concert, on November 1, 1963.
Note: These performances were taken from non-professional tapes and, although the
sound quality is very good throughout, some small imperfections may exist. Every effort
has been made to correct them using modern technologies. |