Original Jazz Classics celebrates the centennials of Miles Davis and John Coltrane with two pivotal Prestige albums: The Miles Davis Quintet’s Cookin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet and Coltrane’s self-titled debut as a leader, Coltrane. Both arrive August 14 via Craft Recordings.
The new editions feature all-analog (AAA) mastering from the original tapes by Cohearent Audio and are pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI, housed in Stoughton Tip-On jackets with obi strips. Both albums will also be available digitally for the first time in 192/24 Hi-Res Audio.
Separated by just a year, the records catch Davis and Coltrane at different but interconnected turning points: first as members of one of jazz’s most celebrated quintets, then with Coltrane beginning to establish a musical identity all his own.
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THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET: COOKIN’ WITH THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET
In 1956, Miles Davis headed into Rudy Van Gelder’s studio with a lineup that would become one of the defining small groups in jazz: John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums.
Cookin’ was one of four albums drawn from those now-legendary sessions. Recorded without rehearsals and in single takes, the record captures five musicians working with the instincts and responsiveness of a band that didn’t need much discussion before the tape started rolling.
Its four selections cover a surprising amount of ground. “My Funny Valentine” gives Davis space for the lyrical, restrained trumpet playing that had become one of his signatures, while the closing “Tune Up/When Lights Are Low” lets the quintet swing at full force.
Between them, you can hear why this group became such fertile ground for both Davis and Coltrane at pivotal moments in their development.
JOHN COLTRANE: COLTRANE
A year later, the saxophonist stepped forward.
Recorded at Van Gelder Studio in 1957, Coltrane became John Coltrane’s first album as a leader. It arrived during an especially consequential year: after his work with Davis and before joining Thelonious Monk’s quartet later in 1957.
Coltrane is joined by Johnnie Splawn on trumpet, Sahib Shihab on saxophone, pianists Red Garland and Mal Waldron, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath.
The album moves between the restless momentum of “Bakai,” “Straight Street” and “Chronic Blues” and the gentler “While My Lady Sleeps,” capturing a player whose fierce, direct attack was already recognizable even as his musical language continued to evolve.
ONE YEAR, TWO SIDES OF COLTRANE
Hearing the records together adds another dimension to both.
On Cookin’, Coltrane is part of Davis’ tightly connected quintet, responding to some of the strongest players of the era. On Coltrane, he gets his name on the cover and begins defining what a John Coltrane album might actually sound like.
What came later would transform jazz. But these Prestige recordings let you hear some of the groundwork being laid before those later breakthroughs.
LISTENING NOTES
“My Funny Valentine” – The Miles Davis Quintet
Forget the title Cookin’ for a minute. The album begins with Davis taking his time, using space as effectively as sound before the quintet starts turning up the heat.
“Tune Up/When Lights Are Low” – The Miles Davis Quintet
Head here to hear the five musicians fully locked in. The swinging medley is the opposite side of the group from the restraint of “My Funny Valentine.”
“Bakai” – John Coltrane
An appropriately restless way to begin Coltrane’s first record as a leader. The tune moves between tension and groove while Coltrane makes his presence immediately clear.
“While My Lady Sleeps” – John Coltrane
A useful counterpoint to the harder edges elsewhere on the album. Coltrane slows things down without losing the directness in his sound.
“Chronic Blues” – John Coltrane
Close with the blues and listen to how much Coltrane packs inside a familiar framework. It’s an early glimpse of a musician already looking for more room to move.
TWO CENTENNIALS, ONE REMARKABLE CHAPTER
Miles Davis and John Coltrane would each go on to radically expand the possibilities of modern jazz, but Cookin’ and Coltrane document an earlier chapter when their paths were still closely intertwined.
Returning through Original Jazz Classics with all-analog mastering and 180-gram pressings, the two albums offer a fitting way to mark both centennials: not by jumping straight to the records that later defined Davis and Coltrane, but by returning to a moment when those artistic identities were taking shape.
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