John Coltrane - Blue Train (Tone Poet Series) 2LP

On September 15, 1957, John Coltrane went into Rudy Van Gelder's living room studio in Hackensack, New Jersey and recorded his first great masterpiece: Blue Train. It would be the legendary saxophonist's sole album as a leader for Blue Note, a locomotive 5-track album fueled by the bluesy title track that featured a dynamic 6-piece band with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Kenny Drew on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums.

To mark the 65th anniversary of the album's recording, Blue Train will be released in two special editions as part of Blue Note's acclaimed Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series: a single LP mono pressing of the original album and a 2LP stereo pressing of Blue Train: The Complete Masters which includes a second disc of alternate and incomplete takes, four of which have never been released before, and none of which have been available previously on vinyl. The 2LP-set comes with a bound booklet featuring session photos by Francis Wolff and an essay by Coltrane expert Ashley Kahn. Both Tone Poet Vinyl Editions were produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in deluxe gatefold tip-on jackets.

"The LPs are mastered directly from the original analog master tapes by Kevin at his incredible facility called Cohearent Mastering. We go about it in the exact same way that we did for so many years for the Music Matters Blue Note reissues. We do not roll off the low end, boost the top or do any limiting of any kind. We allow the full glory of the original Blue Note masters to come though unimpeded! Short of having an actual time machine, this is as close as you can get to going back and being a fly on the wall for an original Blue Note recording session."
- Joe Harley