Mingus, Ornette Coleman, Coltrane - the Atlantic years: worth the plunge?

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I saw in FNAC the other day that Atlantic/Warner have reissued a bunch of classic jazz albums cheap on CD (around €9 each, which is about £5.50 or $8), and also the CD Box Sets of, respectively, Coltrane, Mingus and Coleman's recordings for Atlantic - the ones that Rhino put out in the 90s. The latter are €71 each.

I am largely unfamiliar with the output of these three jazz giants. The Coltrane box set (link) seems to consist of a high proportion of alternate takes, so I thought I'd skip that and maybe just get Giant Steps and Olé instead, which I have heard and like, and are included in the €9 each batch. But what about the Mingus (link) and Coleman (link) box sets? Representative of their best work or not? If not, recommendations for alternative buys would be appreciated.

― Jeff W, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

New Jazz Expert Answers

― Jeff W, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The correct Coltrane link.

― Jeff W, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

get the coleman

― mark s, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Wot Mark said. 'Beauty is a Rare Thing' is, along w/ the James Brown 'Star Time' set, prob. the best single artist box set ever issued, imho - it's 'representative' of the Atlantic years 'cos it contains every extant recording he made for the label, but you also need some of the later albs to experience the full range of Ornette's music (there's quite a difference between 'The Shape of Jazz to Come' and 'Dancing in Your Head', for example...)

Looking at that link, there is some tremendous music on the Mingus box, but not much in the way of 'extras' - four alt. takes, plus an interview disc (which is prob. fascinating, but how often wld you actually listen to it?) You're prob. better off getting the individual recs - and again, there's a lot more to Mingus than just the Atlantic albs.

As for the Coltrane, personally I'm much more partial to the later Impulse albs, or even that massive 'Complete Village Vanguard' set.

― Andrew L, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Mingus set is good if you don't own any of his Atlantic records. It is certainly some of his best work, but if you don't want to shell out for the complete set I'd recomend you buy Pithecanthropus Erectus and Tijuana Moods. Actually I'd recomend you buy New Tijuana Moods and Mingus Ah Um and if you love those then buy his Atlantic set. If you don't love them, then you still need to get Pithecanthropus Erectus.

― Saratoo, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I'd buy at least one single cd by Coleman first. He's not to everyone's taste. I'd recommend "The Shape of Jazz to Come" or "Change of the Century". I was a big Ornette admirer at one time, lost interest for years and have only recently become a born-again fan. You can't go wrong with the Mingus but it's a question of arithmetic whether its cheaper to go with the original cds. The outtakes being from "Blues and Roots" would be a positive for me because I prefer Mingus when he's not too self-consciously Being a Great Modern Artist.

― ArfArf, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I own the Coleman and have never regretted a penny of the price. I probably would have paid more, in fact. As much as I love Coltrane and Mingus's music, I am quite satisfied with owning individual Atlantic titles from them.

― Lee G, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Agreed that the Coleman roars like a lion. The Coltrane is very very very very good, but if you're going to start with a Coltrane box, start with the complete "classic quartet" Impulse! box.

― Douglas, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I have the Coltrane box (on LP hooray!) and it only has one double-lp set of alternate takes stuff, the rest is the regular release albums. It's all fantatastic, I really recommend it. I think his Atlantic years were his best period.

― Sean, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Jeff, you should just buy everything these guys ever released, basically.

― Josh, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I depends what kind of Jazz you like the most.

If you are partial to 'Free-Jazz' than by all means go with the excellent Ornette Coleman set, if you are more interested in Progressive Modern Big Band, than go for the Mingus set, and if you want something in between go for the Coltrane set.

All in the end are worth getting.

― Geoffrey Balasoglou, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

except the coltrane, obviously

― mark s, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

don't listen to mark he is obv. insane in the brane

― Josh, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i love all the atlantic coltrane albums

― Ron, Thursday, 13 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

sixteen years pass...

Re: the Ornette:

$130 for digitally sourced vinyl vs $30 for the same material (minus a few inessential outtakes) on the exquisite Beauty is a Rare Thing CD box

You vinyl people are nutso

― Paul Ponzi, Friday, 28 September 2018 15:51 (seven years ago)

srsly

― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Friday, 28 September 2018 16:20 (seven years ago)

all three did across-the-board great work on Atlantic fwiw

― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Friday, 28 September 2018 16:20 (seven years ago)

Yeah, that's a steal for $30. Such a great set. I think Ornette doesn't always get the recognition he deserves because these recordings sound a bit quaint in retrospect. But they are so damn good. Coltrane blew my mind as a teen, but Ornette is the one I keep going back to 30 years later.

― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Friday, 28 September 2018 16:27 (seven years ago)

digitally sourced vinyl is hilarious

― crüt, Friday, 28 September 2018 17:01 (seven years ago)

digitally sourced vinyl is hilarious

This isn't "we used a CD to burn WAV files and emailed them to the pressing plant." Atlantic has the original master tapes, they digitized high-res audio files from those, and used those for the vinyl master. And btw the vinyl version of any album released in the last 20 years by someone not named Jack White or Steve Albini was cut from a digital master, too.

― grawlix (unperson), Friday, 28 September 2018 17:06 (seven years ago)

i know i think those are hilarious too

― crüt, Friday, 28 September 2018 17:09 (seven years ago)

Agreed

― Duke, Friday, 28 September 2018 19:11 (seven years ago)

I think I did even better on the Beauty is A rare tHing set a couple of years ago. Think it was going for like £12 for a while.
Pretty great.

I should get more of the Coltrane early 60s pre-Impulse stuff and even more Mingus. Do have Ah Um, Oh Yeah, The clown somewhere.
& an old edition of Olé and a faulty My favourite things that always wobbled

― Stevolende, Friday, 28 September 2018 21:32 (seven years ago)

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