2019
John Coltrane - Coltrane '58
Craft Recordings released an 8-LP vinyl box set of everything Coltrane recorded during 1958 both as a leader and as a sideman on other sessions. This was a massive project sourced only from original Rudy van Gelder master analog tape reels. Blakemore did all the audio preservation, tape repair, digital transfers, audio restoration, and remastering. Blakemore said, "I simply could not believe how good these 60+ year old tapes sounded after I completed redoing dried out splices and other repairs. They were mostly recorded on Scotch 111, red oxide, acetate tape, and were mostly in really excellent condition. Rudy van Gelder's recordings are so intimate and immediate sounding, there were times when I felt 'Trane was standing in my studio playing."
The box set included great historical writing and numerous photos that had never been published.
Reviews:
Coltrane '58: The Prestige Recordings Review
"The vinyl on my 1962 LP is considerably noisier however while the new version on Coltrane '58: The Prestige Recordings is pretty much sonically transparent, invisible."
- Mark Smotroff, Audiophile Review, April 2, 2019
"The audio...sounds superb throughout, with such presence and immediacy that it seems these musicians are in the room with you. Isolating the bass and drums on one channel with the sax and trumpet on the other takes some getting used to, but you'll be blown away at how vibrant and contemporary this feels. Considering the tapes are 60-years-old, the fidelity is mind-blowing. Playing this through quality headphones only increases that feeling...this beautifully crafted, linen covered box is essential to appreciating the early, somewhat formative years of his largerthan-life musical personality, one that would go on to create bigger and arguably better things."
- Hal Horowitz, American Songwriter, March 29, 2019
"While it's true that all this music is easy to find elsewhere, it's also true that Coltrane '58: The Prestige Recordings sounds sterling and is presented with thought and care, so anybody looking to dive into these classic recordings will find this a fine intro."
- Stephen Erlewine, AllMusic, March 29, 2019
"The sound is both audiophile and artisanal...I love the retro presentation of the LP set. The vinyl is heavy clothbound, with each record getting its own brown cardboard sleeve, reminiscent of early 78 rpm album sets...Fans will find much to learn and enjoy from reading the 40-page booklet that accompany both the versions...This carefully curated and rendered set is a beautiful celebration of a landmark year for John Coltrane...It pays tribute to one of music's greatest masters with design and production of the highest standard. In an age of so much streaming and downloading, we are fortunate to still have beautiful productions like these. They are material and spiritual blessings."
- Tom Schnabel, KCRW, April 23, 2019
"Coltrane '58: the Prestige Recordings is yet another entry in the legendary artist's voluminous posthumous discography, and one that's obviously been assembled with great care and attention to detail. Craft Recordings... has put together a top-notch set chronicling one of the most important phases of Coltrane's career."
- Chris Ingalls, Popmatters, March 29, 2019
"With this new set...the entire series of 1958 recordings...come spectacularly packaged in a portfolio reminiscent of a 78rpm album book. Complete with forty pages of historical photos and extensive liner notes by noted jazz historian/author Ashley Kahn, this pivotal year in John Coltrane's recorded legacy can at last be enjoyed in its entirety."
- Armand Lewis, Record Collector News, March 28, 2019
"...I've been digging into the excellent new boxed set Coltrane '58. It captures every recorded performance Coltrane gave that year for Prestige Records, remastered and resequenced in chronological order. The effect is of a lovely, long evening with the band."
- Morgan Enos, Talkhouse, April 1, 2019
"...the remastered music pops on this 5CD, 8LP set of curio and study, and for that Craft Recordings should be saluted. Add in Ashley Khan's luminous liner notes, lavish emphera and rare photos contained in the accompanying booklet and we are given ample insight into this fiery, ever changing, ever challenging and ever commanding year wherein Coltrane set out to make his mark."
- Mike Jurkovic, ALL ABOUT JAZZ, April 10,2019
"The clarity of the remastered 60-yar-old recordings is remarkable. Coltrane '58 captures one of the most important years in the performance life of perhaps the most important jazz sax player ever to blow. No collection is complete without Coltrane's Prestige recordings."
- Michael Muckian, Shepherd Express, April 2, 2019