Does the world really need another Coltrane box? It’s a seemingly prescient query that could easily surface in the oncoming wake of this new set from Pablo. But pose that question to even the most casual Coltrane fan (is there such a person?) and you’re likely to receive a puzzled, sympathetic smile. To many even the slightest new aperture into the saxophonist’s art is cause for jubilant celebration and judged from this perspective this set offers up a timely windfall. Seven more discs of vintage Trane including four hours never before released in commercial form culled from European concert tapes created when the classic quartet was in its final formative stages and beyond. Pablo owner and producer Norman Granz was the bankroll behind the tour, but surprisingly his usual hands-on (some might say meddling) approach is largely absent. Coltrane’s personality and the strength of his vision are probable causes behind Granz’s less intrusive presence.

The set follows a linear course across a dozen concert dates with fidelity ranging from passable to exceptional given the vintage of the tapes. Programmatic overlaps with other packages like Impulse’s Complete Live at the Village Vanguard 1961 arise; but versions of such seminal Coltrane staples as “Impressions” and “Spiritual” are charged with enough improvisatory energy to make them distinct entities in these fresh incarnations. Listeners wary of potential homogeneity in multiple variations (ie. six separate takes of “My Favorite Things” alone) have little to worry about here. Coltrane and his cohorts were (and in the cases of Tyner, Jones and Workman remain) supreme sages of extended improvisation. Even with these platinum-plated credentials the members of the quartet weren’t taciturn in testing themselves on a nightly basis. The places where they can be heard straining the limits of endurance and technique are among the most thrilling aspects of the set. Such are the moments where Coltrane’s profound mortality comes to bear along with the fact that he was using a man-made instrument to tap the ecstatic plane. One senses that it’s more the limitations of the ligatures, keys and metal tubing than those of the lungs, spirit and mind.

The two readings of “I Want to Talk About You” map this kind of precarious territory and are distant cousins of his first recorded tackling of the tune on the album Soultrane (also available through Fantasy). During his unaccompanied cadenzas on each (a feature that was to become a regularity on the quartet’s concert circuit of 63’) Coltrane parses apart the melody with a surgical skill that still retains all the pathos and emotion of its original intact form. Conjuring variation after variation he eventually resorts to strenuous register effects; tapering off into a stratospheric altissimo cry that falters slightly under the corporeal strictures of the horn. It’s these go for broke imperfections that lend so much weight to what he has to say.

Reciting all the examples in the space of this review would be a task doomed to failure, but favorites of these ears include the duet section that unfurls between Coltrane and Jones on “Impressions” of disc five and the rare reading of “Blue Train” from disc one, with Dolphy turning up on fleet-fingered flute. The former track presages the later volcanic repartee recorded as “Vigil” through its polyrhythmic momentum and thematic urgency and Jones makes a valiant effort to push his friend and employer to the limits. On the latter Dolphy’s twists his angular way through the familiar hardbop theme and in tandem with the composer reinvents the piece as a precursor of the freedoms both men would embrace in the coming years.

The role of Garrison in the group, particularly on the later discs, is another minor revelation. Given the velocity and density of the quartet’s music the intricacies of the bassist’s lines were sometimes lost in the ensuing tempests. Coltrane recognized this dilemma early on and remedied the situation by arranging for and encouraging solo bass sections in several of his standard compositions. Garrison embraced the allotted space and used it as a testing ground for his wide-ranging arsenal of extended techniques. His lengthy string workouts with fingers and bow on pieces like “Mr. P.C.” (Disc Six) and “Impressions” (Disc Seven), which incorporate everything from racing double stops to sawing harmonics, are incubators of the post New Thing approach to the instrument. In these instances and so many others the portentous promise of the future in its nascent guises is concretely palpable.

Granted, a straight eight plus hour run through of all the concert dates in a single sitting is likely to tax the attention span of even the most rabid Trane freak, but that’s the beauty of the box. Each concert can be consumed in portions and order completely up to the fickle whims of the listener. Still, many may be seeking the bottom line in their mulling over whether or not to acquire this set. Is it worth the cash outlay? Even weighing the magnitude of its considerable cost the answer still has to be an emphatic ‘yes.’ The variety of the performances lends easily to repeated listening and there’s just too much of genuine worth and historical resonance to pass up. Coltrane’s was a voice silenced far too soon and one of the only consolations of his premature passing was the boon of recorded work he left behind. Live Trane adds significantly to the reservoir and that underlying reason lies at the root of its immutable importance.

Disc One: Impressions (11:14)*/ My Favorite Things (25:11)*/ Blue Train (8:54)*/ Naima (4:05)*/ Impressions (7:17)*/ My Favorite Things (20:27)*. Recorded: November 18, 1961, Paris & November 23, 1961, Stockholm.

Disc Two: Mr. P.C. (11:17)*/ Mile’s Mode (10:34)*/ My Favorite Things (19:09)*/ Norman Granz Introduction (1:44)/ Bye Bye Blackbird (19:48)*/ The Inch Worm (10:17)*/ Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (4:58)*. Recorded: November 25, 1961, Hamburg & November 17, 1962, Paris.

Disc Three: Mr. P.C. (15:13)/ My Favorite Things (23:55)/ The Inch Worm (7:06)/ Mr. P.C. (15:03)/ Naima (9:24). Recorded: November 17, 1962, Paris & November 19, 1962, Stockholm.

Disc Four: Traneing In (18:44)/ Bye Bye Blackbird (17:52)/ Impressions (8:01)/ Swedish Introduction (1:08)/ Traneing In (11:50)/ Mr. P.C. (18:27). Recorded: November 19, 1962 & October 22, 1963, Stockholm.

Disc Five: Naima (6:49)/ The Promise (6:57)/ Spiritual (12:22)/ Impressions (11:35)/ I Want to Talk About You (9:53)/ My Favorite Things (13:56). Recorded: October 22, 1963, Stockholm.

Disc Six: Mr. P.C. (26:28)/ Lonnie’s Lament (10:12)/ Naima (8:03)/ Chasin’ the Trane (5:41)/ My Favorite Things (21:04). Recorded: November 1, 1963, Paris & November 2, 1963, Berlin.

Disc Seven: Afro Blue (7:41)/ Cousin Mary (9:54)/ I Want to Talk About You (8:23)/ Impressions (27:15). Recorded: November 2, 1963, Berlin & November 4, 1963, Stuttgart.

Players: John Coltrane- tenor & soprano saxophones; Eric Dolphy-alto saxophone, flute & bass clarinet*; Reggie Workman- bass*; McCoy Tyner- piano; Jimmy Garrison- bass (all tracks without Workman); Elvin Jones- drums.