The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings


The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings is a 1995 box set by jazz musician John Coltrane. It features all of the recordings Coltrane made for Atlantic Records, spanning January 15, 1959, to May 25, 1961.
During Coltrane's Atlantic years, he made important recordings such as Giant Steps and My Favorite Things, recorded albums with Milt Jackson, Don Cherry, and Eric Dolphy and made his debut on the soprano saxophone.

Atlantic albums

Coltrane recorded eight albums for Atlantic, plus two compilation albums released posthumously. See the individual articles for discussions of these albums, all of which are included in the Atlantic box:Giant Steps Coltrane Jazz My Favorite Things Bags and Trane Olé Coltrane Coltrane Plays the Blues Coltrane's Sound The Avant-Garde The Coltrane Legacy

Outtakes

The seventh CD of this set features all of Coltrane's Atlantic outtakes, including no fewer than 10 incomplete and alternative versions of "Giant Steps".

Reception

The Penguin Guide to Jazz assigned its "Crown" award to the box set, in addition to giving it a four-star rating. In spite of the accolade, authors Richard Cook and Brian Morton noted that the box set presents a problem for collectors who already own the constituent albums, but who are seeking the additional material only available on the seventh disc. Cook and Morton also took issue with what they deemed an "ugly title" for the set.
Allmusic gave the album a five-star rating. Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "the scope of this music is, quite simply, breathtaking — not only was Coltrane developing at a rapid speed, but the resulting music encompasses nearly every element that made him a brilliant musician, and it is beautiful."

Track listing

Disc 1
  1. "Stairway to the Stars" 3:29
  2. "The Late Late Blues" 9:33
  3. "Bags & Trane" 7:24
  4. "Three Little Words" 7:28
  5. "The Night We Called it a Day" 4:20
  6. "Be-Bop" 7:58
  7. "Blues Legacy" 9:02
  8. "Centerpiece" 7:06
  9. "Giant Steps" 3:41
  10. "Naima" 4:28
  11. "Like Sonny" 6:03
Disc 2
  1. "Spiral" 5:56
  2. "Countdown" 2:21
  3. "Countdown" 4:32
  4. "Syeeda’s Song Flute" 7:00
  5. "Syeeda’s Song Flute" 7:05
  6. "Mr. P.C." 6:56
  7. "Giant Steps" 4:44
  8. "Cousin Mary" 5:46
  9. "Cousin Mary" 5:44
  10. "I’ll Wait and Pray" 3:32
  11. "I’ll Wait and Pray" 3:25
  12. "Little Old Lady" 4:24
Disc 3
  1. "Like Sonny"
  2. "Harmonique"
  3. "My Shining Hour"
  4. "Naima"
  5. "Some Other Blues"
  6. "Fifth House"
  7. "Cherryco"
  8. "The Blessing"
  9. "Focus on Sanity"
  10. "The Invisible"
  11. "Bemsha Swing"
Disc 4
  1. "Village Blues"
  2. "Village Blues"
  3. "My Favorite Things"
  4. "Central Park West"
  5. "Mr. Syms"
  6. "Untitled Original "
  7. "Summertime"
  8. "Body and Soul"
  9. "Body and Soul"
  10. "Mr. Knight"
Disc 5
  1. "Blues to Elvin"
  2. "Blues to Elvin"
  3. "Mr. Day"
  4. "Blues to You"
  5. "Blues to You"
  6. "Blues to Bechet"
  7. "Satellite"
  8. "Everytime We Say Goodbye"
  9. "26-2"
  10. "But Not For Me"
Disc 6
  1. "Liberia"
  2. "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes"
  3. "Equinox"
  4. "Olé"
  5. "Dahomey Dance"
  6. "Aisha"
  7. "Original Untitled Ballad "
Disc 7
  • 1-7 - “Giant Steps”
  • 8-12 – “Naima”
  • 13-20 – “Like Sonny”
  • 21-22 – “Giant Steps”
  • 23-24 – “Blues to Elvin”
  • 25 – “Blues to You”

Personnel

Recorded between January 15, 1959, and May 25, 1961, in New York City.