Producer: Nesuhi Ertegun.

Compilation producer: Patrick Milligan.

Recorded in 1959 and 1960. Includes liner notes by Nat Hentoff.

Digitally remastered by Dan Hersch (DigiPrep).

Personnel: John Coltrane (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); McCoy Tyner, Tommy Flanagan, Wynton Kelly (piano); Elvin Jones, Jimmy Cobb , Art Taylor (drums, snare drum).

Audio Remasterer: Dan Hersch.

Liner Note Author: Nat Hentoff.

Recording information: 05/05/1959-10/24/1960.

Released in 2000, The Very Best of John Coltrane is hardly the first best-of collection by the seminal saxophonist, and you can bet certain that it won't be the last. Focusing on 'Trane's influential Atlantic output of the late '50s and early '60s, this CD shouldn't be confused with previous Best of John Coltrane collections from Pablo/Fantasy (Pablo 2405-417) or Atlantic (Atlantic 1541), although everything Atlantic chose for the latter can also be found on this collection, including "My Favorite Things," "Equinox," "Giant Steps," "Naima," "Cousin Mary," and "Central Park West." This CD, however, is more generous and also includes such gems as "Summertime" from My Favorite Things, "Mr. Syms" from Coltrane Sings the Blues, "My Shining Hour" from Coltrane Jazz, and "Body and Soul" from Coltrane's Sound. Seasoned Coltrane fans will already be familiar with these essential 1959 and 1960 recordings, so the person that Rhino obviously had in mind when it released this disc was the casual listener. All of Coltrane's Atlantic output is worth owning, and most of it is truly essential. But for those who have yet to experience the joys of Coltrane's Atlantic period and need a course in Introductory Coltrane 101, this CD would be a very rewarding and logical starting point. ~ Alex Henderson

The importance of John Coltrane as an inexhaustible, groundbreaking improviser cannot be overstated. His distinctive sound, melodic imagination and storied dedication to the craft remain an inspiration both to other saxophonists, and to later generations of jazz musicians.

These landmark sessions--a highly accessible, essential core of the Coltrane legacy--were recorded just after his bracing work with Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, and signaled Coltrane's emergence as a dominant and enduring musical force. He reshaped standards like "Body & Soul" and "Summertime" into his own heady, harmonic image. The classic recording of "My Favorite Things," probably Coltrane's most popular, introduced his soaring soprano sax and had pianists scrambling to decipher McCoy Tyner's revolutionary chord voicings. Coltrane's trademark "sheets of sound" cover "Central Park West," and the Afro-Cuban bump of "Like Sonny" (a nod to tenor-titan Sonny Rollins), while other original compositions such as the highly influential "Giant Steps" present radical ideas that musicians still grapple with today.