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John Coltrane discography
John Coltrane in 1963
Studio albums	45
Live albums	11
Compilation albums	23
Singles	19
Video albums	2
Appearances	59
Documentaries	3
Television	2

This article presents the discography of the American jazz saxophonist and bandleader John Coltrane (1926–1967).

Introduction

Coltrane participated in his first recording sessions while enlisted in the Navy from August 6, 1945, to August 11, 1946. He performed eight numbers in a pickup band that included trumpeter Dexter Culbertson. These were private recordings not made for official release. However, one track from the session, "Hot House", eventually appeared on the 1992 compilation The Last Giant: The John Coltrane Anthology.

There are conflicting sources as to whether he made his first professional recording session with Dinah Washington: Jazzdisco.org lists the session as September 27, 1949 in New York City, but Lewis Porter's John Coltrane: His Life and Music states that he was on tour with the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band during that time. Most sources confirm that he recorded with Billy Valentine on November 7 in Los Angeles for Mercury Records. In subsequent years, Coltrane sat in on recording sessions with Gillespie, Johnny Hodges, Earl Bostic, and Gay Crosse.

In September 1955, Coltrane joined the Miles Davis Quintet and appeared on several Miles Davis-led recordings, including 'Round About Midnight and Milestones. He briefly joined Thelonious Monk in May 1957, and their handful of recordings together have been collected on albums such as 1961's Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane. In 1958, he rejoined Davis' band and stayed until April 1960; during that time he participated in the 1959 Kind of Blue sessions.

In April 1957, he signed a contract with Prestige Records; it is unclear if this was a two-year deal or a one-year contract plus a one-year option. Many of Coltrane's recordings for Prestige could be classified as "sideman" recordings and informal jam sessions (or "blowing sessions", in the then-current terminology). He also made his first albums as a group leader, including his 1957 debut, Coltrane. That same year, Prestige allowed him to fulfill a promise that he would make an album for Blue Note, leading to 1957's Blue Train. After Coltrane gained prominence in the early 1960s, Prestige reissued a number of Coltrane's sideman and jam sessions under his name to capitalize on his success. The Prestige Recordings collects all of Coltrane's recordings for Prestige with the exception of his sideman work with Davis.

When his Prestige contract expired, Coltrane signed a two-year contract (one year, plus a one-year option) with Atlantic Records in April 1959. He was the leader of all of these sessions except Bags & Trane and The Avant-Garde, where he was featured with Milt Jackson and Don Cherry respectively. Albums from this period include Giant Steps and My Favorite Things. The Heavyweight Champion box collects his recordings for Atlantic, including all known outtakes.

Coltrane became the first artist to sign with the new Impulse! Records when it bought out his Atlantic contract in April 1961. He would record for the label until the end of his life, and his success earned Impulse! a reputation as "The House That Trane Built". Albums from this final period include the live album Live at Birdland, A Love Supreme, and Ascension.

All of the companies Coltrane worked with during his lifetime have compiled and reissued his material. In addition, Impulse! has issued several previously unreleased live recordings, including Live in Japan and The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording. Coltrane's concert, television and radio performances generated dozens of unauthorized and bootleg recordings. Pablo Records, a label that specializes in live recordings, purchased rights to several tapes of his performances, and is therefore considered a legitimate source despite never signing him to its label.

Studio albums

Prestige Records studio albums

Blue Note Records studio albums

Savoy Records studio albums

Atlantic Records studio albums

Impulse! Records studio albums

Live albums

Impulse! Records live albums

Pablo Records live albums

Live albums released by miscellaneous labels

Appearances

With Miles Davis

With Thelonious Monk

Other appearances

Singles

Compilation albums

Documentaries

• The World According to John Coltrane (1990)
• The Church of Saint Coltrane (1996)
• Trane Tracks: The Legacy of John Coltrane (2005)
• Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary (2017)

Video albums

• John Coltrane: A True Innovator (2004)
• Impressions of Coltrane (2007)
• Chasing Trane- The John Coltrane Documentary (Impulse!, 2017)

Television

• Jazz Casual: John Coltrane (1963)
• Imagine: Saint John Coltrane (2004)

Notes

1. John Coltrane: His Life and Music, Lewis Porter, p. 37. (1998, University of Michigan Press)
2. John Coltrane: His Life and Music, Lewis Porter, pp. 43-45. (1998, University of Michigan Press)
3. John Coltrane: His Life and Music, Lewis Porter, pp. 308, 340. (1998, University of Michigan Press)
4. Jazzdisco.org
5. John Coltrane: His Life and Music, Lewis Porter, p. 345. (1998, University of Michigan Press)
6. John Coltrane: His Life and Music, Lewis Porter, p. 95. (1998, University of Michigan Press)
7. Chasin' The Trane, J.C. Thomas, p. 91 (1975, Doubleday): "The designated two-year period may have also been a one-year contract plus a one-year option, too, but no one seems to know for sure."
8. Coltrane: The Story of a Sound, Ben Ratliff, p. 34. (2007, Farrar, Straus and Giroux): "The contract, dated April 9, 1957, was for peanuts: $300 per album, and three albums a year."
9. John Coltrane: His Life and Music, Lewis Porter, p. 127. (1998, University of Michigan Press): "Just a few months after Coltrane, the Blue Note label got special permission from Prestige to produce the second album under John's leadership."
10. Chasin' The Trane, J.C. Thomas, p. 114 (1975, Doubleday)
11. John Coltrane: His Life and Music, Lewis Porter, p. 140. (1998, University of Michigan Press)
12. John Coltrane: His Life and Music, Lewis Porter, pp. 190-191. (1998, University of Michigan Press)
13. The House that Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records, Ashley Kahn. (2006, W.W. Norton)
14. "Pablo Records page". Archived from the original on 2010-11-18. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
15. Norman Granz: The Man Who Used Jazz for Justice, Tad Hershorn, p. 368. (2001, University of California Press)
16. Nate Chinen (2019-08-16). "A Lost Album From John Coltrane, With Thanks To A French-Canadian Director". NPR.org.
17. Chinen, Nate (2023-05-31). "John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy's fearless experiment sets a new album ablaze". Music News. Consider This. NPR. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
18. Discogs: Michel Legrand, Legrand Jazz
19. Jazzdisco.org
20. Jazzdisco.org
21. Jazzdisco.org
22. Jazzdisco.org
23. Jazzdisco.org
24. Jazzdisco.org
25. Jazzdisco.org (7-inch disc?)
26. Jazzdisco.org (7-inch disc?)
27. Jazzdisco.org (7-inch disc?)
28. Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975 (6th Edition), Tim Neely, p. 141. (2008, Krause Publications)
29. Jazzdisco.org
30. Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975 (6th Edition), Tim Neely, p. 141. (2008, Krause Publications)
31. Goldmine Record Album Price Guide (5th Edition), Tim Neely, p. 286. (2007, Krause Publications)
32. Jazzdisco.org (10-inch album?) (1 track only)
33. Jazzdisco.org
34. Discogs: Earl Bostic, Earl Bostic For You
35. Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975 (6th Edition), Tim Neely, p. 141 (2008, Krause Publications)
36. Jazzdisco.org
37. Goldmine Record Album Price Guide (5th Edition), Tim Neely, p. 286. (2007, Krause Publications)
38. Jazzdisco.org (10-inch album?) (2 tracks only?)
39. Discogs - label art for 7-inch single "Used to Be Duke" does not list Coltrane's name
40. Jazzdisco.org
41. Jazzdisco.org
42. Jazzdisco.org
43. Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975 (6th Edition), Tim Neely, p. 253. (2008, Krause Publications)
44. Discogs: Wess - Coltrane - Quinichette, Things Ain't What They Used To Be
45. Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975 (6th Edition), Tim Neely, p. 253. (2008, Krause Publications)
46. Allmusic: John Coltrane - The Very Best of John Coltrane
47. Discogs: John Coltrane - The Very Best of John Coltrane
48. Allmusic: Prestige Profiles, Vol. 9
49. Allmusic: Fearless Leader
50. Allmusic: Interplay
51. Allmusic: A Man Called Trane
52. Allmusic: Side Steps
53. Allmusic: The Very Best of John Coltrane: The Prestige Era
54. Rhino: John Coltrane - The Atlantic Years In Mono
55. Sexton, Paul (2018-10-19). "John Coltrane's 1963 Masters Gathered On 'New Directions' Set | uDiscover". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
56. Amazon.com: John Coltrane: A True Innovator
57. Allmusic.com: Impressions of Coltrane (DVD)
58. BBC One - imagine..

External links

• Jazz Discography Project
• Allmusic
• John Coltrane Discography
• Discogs
• 45cat

Sources

• Chasin' The Trane, J.C. Thomas. (1975, Doubleday)
• John Coltrane: His Life and Music, Lewis Porter. (1998, University of Michigan Press)
• Coltrane: The Story of a Sound, Ben Ratliff. (2007, Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
• The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records, Ashley Kahn. (2006, W.W. Norton)

• Jazz discographies
• John Coltrane
• John Coltrane albums
• Discographies of American artists