Though he passed away in 1967, the flame of saxophonist and composer John Coltrane burns brighter each year. Hailed for his early work in the bebop and hard bop idioms and finally as a groundbreaker in modal and free jazz forms, Coltrane has posthumously been awarded both a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys and a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation. Coltrane has even been canonized by the African Orthodox Church! Hip-o Select's Verve arm continues its ongoing series of box sets dedicated to Coltrane's years at Impulse! Records on August 19 with the release of The Impulse! Albums Volume Four.

Though Coltrane died at the early age of 40, he left behind a staggering amount of work that has continued to be anthologized to this day. The Impulse! Albums Volume Four rounds up the first five posthumous releases by the jazz legend: Expression (1967), Live at the Village Vanguard Again! (1967), Om (1967), Cosmic Music (with Alice Coltrane) (1968) and Selflessness featuring My Favorite Things (1968). As usual, the attractive, compact box sets are no-frills, collecting the five albums in a slipcase housing CDs in individual jewel boxes, with the original artwork preserved. Perhaps most excitingly, each album in this set has also been remastered for the first time in more than 15 years.

Hit the jump for a brief tour of these five quintessential 'Trane sets!

Coltrane rose up through the ranks of jazz due to his work with Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis in the 1950s, and pioneered what came to be known as "Coltrane changes," or a harmonic progression variation using substitute chords over standard jazz chord progressions. He first explored these changes on the hard-bop Blue Note album Blue Train in 1957, before crystallizing his sound and technique on his Atlantic debut, 1960's Giant Steps. Coltrane was one of the very first acts signed by producer Creed Taylor for the fledgling Impulse! label, and his 1961 album Africa/Brass was only the second album ever released on the label. Though Taylor departed the label he founded for the greener pastures of Verve, A&M and finally his own CTI, Coltrane remained with Impulse! where he worked with producer Bob Theile on some of the most successful recordings of his career. (Africa/Brass was reissued earlier this year as part of Verve Select's First Impulse: The Creed Taylor Collection, along with three never-before-released demos by Coltrane.)

Expression, the first album released after the saxophonist's death, was approved for release by the artist before his passing, and the title track was his final studio recording. All four tracks were recorded between February and March 1967, and were original compositions; "To Be" features him on flute. (One bonus track, "Number One," has been added to subsequent reissues, but only the original album configurations are used on the new box.) The next Impulse! release was a sequel of sorts to 1962's Live! at the Village Vanguard. Live at the Village Vanguard Again! was recorded in May 1966 and displays Coltrane in the free jazz style so characteristic of this period. He plays tenor and soprano saxophones, as well as bass clarinet and flute. On the album he revisits old favorites in new interpretations: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things" and Giant Steps' "Naima." Jimmy Garrison's bass solo "Introduction to My Favorite Things" rounds out this album.

The third album in the box, Om, may be the most controversial album in Coltrane's catalogue. It takes its name from the familiar syllable of meditation, a sacred syllable in the Hindu religion believed to symbolize the infinite. Recorded in October 1965 with Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones among the players, Om’s far-out sounds spawned the urban legend that Coltrane recorded its single track (28:49, split on two sides on the original vinyl) on an LSD trip. The follow-up, Cosmic Music, was a teaming with wife and pianist Alice Coltrane. John only appears on two of its four tracks recorded in February 1966, "Manifestation" and "Reverend King," a salute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The final album in the box, Selflessness featuring My Favorite Things, reached all the way back to sessions from 1963 and 1965. In addition to its two lengthy title tracks, it includes a rendition of "I Want to Talk About You."

The Impulse! Albums Volume Four is available from Hip-o Select beginning August 19, or starting September 6 in traditional retail outlets.

John Coltrane, The Impulse! Albums Volume Four (Hip-o/Verve Select, 2011)

CD 1: John Coltrane, Expression (Impulse! AS-9120, 1967)

1. Ogunde 3.36
2. To Be 16.20
3. Offering 8.25
4. Expression 10.50

John Coltrane, Live At The Village Vanguard Again! (Impulse! AS-9124, 1967)

1. Naima 15.08
2. Introduction To My Favorite Things 6.07
3. My Favorite Things 20.21

John Coltrane, Om (Impulse! A-9140, 1967)

1. Om 28.49

John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane, Cosmic Music (Impulse! AS-9148, 1968)

1. Manifestation 11.44
2. Lord, Help Me To Be 7.29
3. Reverend King 10:45
4. The Sun 4.01

John Coltrane, Selflessness featuring My Favorite Things (Impulse! AS-9161, 1968)

1. My Favorite Things 17.34
2. I Want To Talk About You 8.19
3. Selflessness 14.55