[HOUSTON NONET]

Trane can be like beer-- don't give your friend a heavy bitter stout for his first taste. And don't play Sunship or Live in Seatle for the first cd
My reco for order as follow:
1. Blue Trane
2. Ballads
3. Lush Life
4. Giant Steps
5. Crescent
6. A Love Supreme
7. Then play Chasin the Trane from Live at the Village Vanguard-- he will understand and be HOOKED for life
Not in chronlogical order but musically it makes sense

 

[Sigmund451]

Depending on age and taste Id consider an easy switch between 1 and 2. I do have to admit that Im a sucker for a good ballad. Actually, Id probably play a guy tracks from both and mix them up to give a flavor of what this guy could do. Then move to the other.

 

[DukeCity]

You might even start with some Trane with the Miles quintet. Like maybe "Relaxin'".

Blowing over some standard tunes with that swinging rhythm section! :cheers:

 

[HOUSTON NONET]

Good ideas
Like the one about making a special Trane starter cd of slected tracks.

 

[brutlix]

I'd start with Kind of Blue.

 

[HOUSTON NONET]

Great cd-- a classic but not Trane's best and it is cliche jazz reflex-- start with Blue etc

 

[BobbyC]

I didn't like Trane until I heard Giant Steps.

 

[saintsday]

Put in something from the album with Johnny Hartman on the starter disc, too.

 

[bjornblomberg]

The album with JC and Kenny Burrell would be another great starting point.

 

[Yellowhorn]

Houston -

You may want to get an album by Karrin Allyson by the title "Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane" from Concord Jazz. In this CD, Allyson sings the repertoire of Trane's "Ballads" album so beautifully. Adding to her lyrical, soulful interpretation of the tunes is the most gorgeous solos and accompaniments by James Carter, Bog Berg, Steve Wilson, and a few others.

As for your questions, any of the following albums would do:

-My Favorate Things
-Giant Steps
-Blue Trane

or just one tune, in particular, Equinox! (That was how my friend in college hooked me up with Trane).

 

[gary]

... it is cliche jazz reflex-- start with Blue etc

...don't suppose there's a reason for that, wot?

 

[brutlix]

Great cd-- a classic but not Trane's best and it is cliche jazz reflex-- start with Blue etc

So what if its cliche. It is a masterpiece and also suitable
for someone getting into jazz, especially Trane.

 

[RootyTootoot]

"A Love Supreme" and "Kind of Blue" are both very accessible albums and Coltrane plays utterly brilliantly and at length on both. Anyone who's interested in music (forget jazz or the sax!) would probably enjoy these... And if not, it doesn't matter - a "novice" who gets into playing sax will eventually want to listen to Coltrane, IMHO.

 

[kryz]

I bought Blue Train when I was 15. Still one of my favorite Albums (okay, I'm only 19 now^^).
Great title Tune... everything is great..

btw, "intruduced" my Mum to Jazz when I had it new.
She disliked Blue Train, Locomotion and and Lazy Bird but suddenly....: "I like that tune..."
"Yeah.... It's called "I'm old fashioned"..."

What about "Bags and Trane" or "Dakar" both are rather straight ahead?

 

[HOUSTON NONET]

"The album with JC and Kenny Burrell would be another great starting point"
I agree with Berg
Great idea the track "Why was I Born" can make you cry it is so beautiful

 

[HOUSTON NONET]

Gary- since you asked - one major reason Blue is a classic is because it introduced modal jazz. And the point of my topic here was not to introduce a jazz novice to jazz but a Trane novice to Trane. And Blue is not in my top 10 list for this purpose. In fact Ball and Trane in Chicgao should have been on the list I made
My own experience was that in high school someone told to listen to Trane so I went out and bought the most recent Trane cd in the bin-- Sun Ship. I hated it. Then when I went to U of North Texas (NTSU for us oldies) and trpt man Barry Ries played Gaint Steps, Chasin The Trane and I Want To Talk About You ( the Live at the Birdland version ) for me and bass player Dennis Iwrin one foggy night--- the fog was lifted and I was hooked for life-- great addiction to have

 

[BlueNote]

Look into his Prestige recordings (pre-Miles). He recorded a great album with trumpeter Donald Byrd called The Believer. "Nakatini Serenade" is one of my favorite tunes.
Coltrane recorded plenty of material as a sideman before he released his well-known albums (Giant Steps, Blue Train, et al). He was no child on his Prestige recordings. It did not occur to me just how brilliant his early recordings were until I went back and listened to them about a year ago.

As a listener, I like to hear where someone came from musically, but also appreciate every phase for what it was.

 

[littlemanbighorn]

Trane can be like beer-- don't give your friend a heavy bitter stout for his first taste. And don't play Sunship or Live in Seatle for the first cd
My reco for order as follow:
1. Blue Trane
2. Ballads
3. Lush Life
4. Giant Steps
5. Crescent
6. A Love Supreme
7. Then play Chasin the Trane from Live at the Village Vanguard-- he will understand and be HOOKED for life
Not in chronlogical order but musically it makes sense

8. Africa/Brass
9. Interstellar Space
10. Live at the Village Vanguard Again
11. Meditations
12. ASCENSION!!!!!

 

[dirty]

I would start somebody with Lush Life. That's a perfect album, IMO. I don't think it's his best, but I think it's his most accessible, and the one that I find myself reaching for more than any other. The tunes are pretty and melodic, and Trane's playing is much more in than on many of his other (and best, IMO) recordings.

That or the album with Johnny Hartman. Those are his two prettiest albums, I think. I want to find good, clean LP copies of both of these.

 

[Merlin]

I'll second Blue Train as a starter, followed by My Favorite Things.