Pitchfork

Forty years after his death, one is still compelled to speak of John Coltrane-- iconic saxman, composer and bandleader-- in hushed, reverent tones. Coltrane's massive body of work is frequently studied, raved about, wept over, and anthologized. And rightly so.

On September 18, Prestige will release Interplay, a five-CD set of recordings from 1956-1958, an incredibly fruitful time for Coltrane. Interplay collects seven full albums: Tenor Conclave, Interplay for 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors, The Cats, Wheelin' & Dealin', Modern Jazz Survey 2 (later issued as Dakar), Cattin' with Coltrane and Quinichette, and Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane.

Many of these recordings feature Trane in unusual collaborative configurations, ceding the marquee to others and periodically recording without a true bandleader. A good number of Interplay's tracks are by bands with more than a few horn players-- a relative scarcity in Coltrane's catalog-- and the album-length collaboration with guitarist Kenny Burrell represents a rare meeting of Trane's horn and six strings. In addition to Burrell, collaborators featured on the set include Paul Qunichiette, Hank Mobley, Mal Waldron, Art Taylor, Jimmy Cobb, Paul Chambers, and Tommy Flanagan.

Though many prefer his later, more unrestrained mid-60s albums, Coltrane's work during the time period covered by Interplay is, in a very different way, just as unparalleled. The recordings come from around the time that Trane and Monk were busting skulls at their infamous residency at New York City's Five Spot, and Trane had just rejoined a recently reformed Miles Davis Quintet, who would go on to record such milestones as, well, Milestones, and Kind of Blue. Trane himself was busy holding court at what would become some of the most famous sessions in jazz history. Both Blue Train and Soultrane were recorded in this period, with the landmark Giant Steps to follow shortly thereafter.

In other Coltrane news, Live in '60, '61 & '65, a DVD collecting highlights from three live European performances put on between 1960 and 1965 will be released September 4 as part of the Jazz Icons DVD series. The performances on the DVD feature Trane onstage with his legendary quartet (Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones), as well as with Eric Dolphy, Oscar Peterson, and Stan Getz. Other editions in the DVD series are devoted to Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughn, Wes Montgomery, and Dave Brubeck.