The Tiberi Tapes
John Coltrane
3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
The Tiberi Tapes, a legendary collection of the near-mythic amateur recordings of John Coltrane experimenting on stage in the early ’60s, arrives in 3CD and 4LP highlights packages. (The complete set of more than 100 performances from 86 reels is available on USB format only.) These live recordings were made by fellow saxophonist Frank Tiberi, later the leader of the Woody Herman Orchestra after the clarinetist’s passing (and still, at 97, a professor at the Berklee College of Music). With a small lapel mic and a reel-to-reel recorder concealed in a cloth satchel – changing tapes in the dark as quickly as he could – Tiberi captured rudimentary recordings of Coltrane, typically in quartet arrangement (eventually landing on his classic ensemble of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones, though fellow sax player Eric Dolphy sat in on several dates). He did so for the purpose of studying and transcribing Coltrane’s exemplary sound – so while the recordings assembled here were not intended for release (albeit painstakingly restored from the original reels by Kevin Reeves), they provide a fascinating, extremely raw glimpse at one of the most singular musicians in jazz history. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)
