John Coltrane | Both Directions at Once: the Lost Album | Vinyl

Recorded in a single day, March 6, 1963, at Van Gelder Studio with producer Bob Thiele, this session by Coltrane’s classic quartet — McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones — sat unreleased for over 50 years after Impulse! destroyed the master reel; it survived only on a reference copy Coltrane gave his first wife. Compiled for release by Coltrane’s son Ravi and producer Ken Druker, the album captures the group between the classic-quartet peak of ‘Ballads’ and the more exploratory ‘A Love Supreme,’ featuring early versions of ‘Impressions’ and ‘One Up, One Down’ alongside otherwise-unrecorded originals. Its 2018 release debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard 200, making it Coltrane’s highest-charting album and a rare instance of a decades-old jazz session becoming a genuine new-release event. Critics greeted it as a major addition to the Coltrane discography, offering a missing link in the saxophonist’s mid-’60s evolution.

Track List

Side A

1. Untitled Original 11383
2. Nature Boy
3. Untitled Original 11386
4. Vilia

Side B

1. Impressions
2. Slow Blues
3. One Up, One Down

Release Details

• UPC: 0602567493006
• Label: VERVE LABEL GROUP
• Format: LP Vinyl — Standard
• Genre: Jazz
• Release Date: 6/29/2018