The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings

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"The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings" is a box set of recordings by jazz musician John Coltrane, issued posthumously in 1997 by Impulse! Records, catalogue IMPD4-232. It collects all existing recordings from performances by the John Coltrane Quintet at the Village Vanguard in early November, 1961. Five selections had been issued during Coltrane's lifetime on the albums Live! at the Village Vanguard and Impressions. Additional tracks had been issued posthumously on the albums The Other Village Vanguard Tapes, Trane's Modes and From the Original Master Tapes. Background It was the idea of new producer Bob Thiele to record Coltrane live over four nights in early November, Thiele meeting the saxophonist for the first time face-to-face at the club. This commenced a close working relationship between Thiele and Coltrane that would last for the rest of the saxophonist's time at Impulse. Thiele produced virtually every subsequent album. Thiele quickly secured Coltrane's trust by not insisting he record his most popular song, "My Favorite Things", during these shows. Sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder set up his equipment at a table by the stage. Content Ten titles were performed over the course of the evenings: "Brasilia", "Chasin' the Trane", "Chasin' Another Trane", "Greensleeves", "Impressions", "India", "Miles' Mode", "Naima", "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise" and "Spiritual". Many were performed multiple times using varied line-ups and instrumentation, the core being the Quintet of saxophonists Coltrane and Eric Dolphy, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassists Reggie Workman or Jimmy Garrison (occasionally both) and drummer Elvin Jones. Roy Haynes substituted for Jones on one song. On various songs, Coltrane added guest musicians on tampura, contrabassoon, oboe or a second double bass. The authorship of "Miles' Mode", also known as "Red Planet", is in dispute, sometimes attributed to Dolphy rather than Coltrane. A single-disc sampler containing the five tracks released on Live! at the Village Vanguard and Impressions was issued on February 24, 1998, as Live at the Village Vanguard: The Master Takes. Personnel John Coltrane — soprano and tenor saxophone Eric Dolphy — bass clarinet, alto saxophone McCoy Tyner — piano Reggie Workman - bass Jimmy Garrison - bass Elvin Jones — drums Roy Haynes — drums Garvin Bushell — cor anglais Ahmed Abdul-Malik — tampura.

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