[PREORDER] John Coltrane - The Tiberi Tapes (4LP Box Set)

4LP Box Set, Previously Unreleased Live Recordings

Frank Tiberi began carrying a Concertone TR-100 Transicorder into Philadelphia and New York clubs in 1960, the machine in his bag and a small condenser microphone under his coat, and recorded John Coltrane onto three-inch reels. He was taping for study rather than for release. "My main purpose of recording him was to get information and harmonic values, so that I could be able to really play myself," Tiberi said. By Coltrane's death in 1967 he had gathered more than eighty reels holding over twenty-six hours of music, and he kept them to himself for the six decades that followed.

Eleven of those performances are issued here for the first time, restored from Tiberi's original reels by engineer Kevin Reeves. They were recorded between June 1960 and September 1964 in three rooms: the Showboat and Pep's in Philadelphia, and the Jazz Gallery in New York. The band changes shape across them. McCoy Tyner is at the piano throughout; Steve Davis gives way to Reggie Workman and then Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Pete La Roca to Elvin Jones on drums. Eric Dolphy plays alto saxophone and bass clarinet on three of the tracks. Coltrane originals sit alongside two Rodgers and Hart songs, Wilbur Harden's "West 42nd St." and "Good Bait," credited to Tadd Dameron and Count Basie. Two readings of "Giant Steps" at different tempos open the set. Music historian Ashley Kahn contributes an essay.

The packaging is built from the tapes themselves. The slipcase and all four jackets reproduce the look of the boxes Tiberi's reels arrived in: black tape stock, orange Impulse! rules, titles and venue names in his handwriting, and the old mailing legend still set at the foot of the cover, CONTENTS - Recording Tape. A facsimile music transcription is packed with the four LPs.

Impulse! announced the collection on September 23, 2026, the hundredth anniversary of Coltrane's birth, and issues it on four LPs, on three CDs and digitally. This is the vinyl edition, and it spreads the eleven performances across eight sides.

Tracklist

LP 1, Side 1

1. Giant Steps (228 bpm) - 13:44 - Showboat, Philadelphia or Jazz Gallery, New York, June or July 1960
2. Giant Steps (276 bpm) - 10:15 - Showboat, Philadelphia, July 22, 1960

LP 1, Side 2

1. Thing in D Flat - 15:51 - Jazz Gallery, New York, July 1, 1960

LP 2, Side 1

1. Lover - 4:07 - Jazz Gallery, New York, July 1, 1960
2. West 42nd St. - 19:50 - Showboat, Philadelphia, July 24-29, 1961

LP 2, Side 2

1. Impressions - 20:37 - Showboat, Philadelphia, July 24-29, 1961

LP 3, Side 1

1. Untitled Original in F Minor - 12:25 - Showboat, Philadelphia, July 24-29, 1961
2. Satellite - 11:39 - Showboat, Philadelphia, October 16-21, 1961

LP 3, Side 2

1. Good Bait - 24:38 - Showboat, Philadelphia, November 11-17, 1963

LP 4, Side 1

1. Resolution (Part 1) - 22:51 - Pep's, Philadelphia, September 18, 1964

LP 4, Side 2

1. Resolution (Part 2) - 9:23 - Pep's, Philadelphia, September 18, 1964
2. It's Easy to Remember - 13:33 - Showboat, Philadelphia, October 19, 1962

Complete the Collection

Eighteen John Coltrane titles at Evergreen Vinyl, this one included: Blue Train, Settin' The Pace, Soultrane, Lush Life, Giant Steps, Coltrane Jazz, My Favorite Things, Impressions, Untitled Original 11383 / Impressions, Birdland 1962, A Love Supreme, Transition, Sun Ship, Meditations, 1960-1964, My Favorite Things: Coltrane At Newport, Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary.