Fearless Leader is the first of three boxed sets that will collect John Coltrane’s entire Prestige Records output sans his work with the Miles Davis Quintet, which was previously released as The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions.  

This set focuses on Trane’s work as a leader, covering nine recording sessions over the course of 18 months from 5/31/57 to 12/26/58 at Rudy Van Gelder’s studios.

Prestige signed Trane while the MDQ was on hiatus. They hit the jackpot because his talent and notoriety skyrocketed soon thereafter. Between the first and second sessions, Trane performed a six-month residency with Thelonius Monk at the Five Spot Café. Then, in January ’58, he rejoined Davis. Both men helped Trane grow as an artist.

His most frequent collaborators at the Prestige sessions were fellow MDQ members Red Garland on piano and Paul Chambers on bass, who appear on all but one session. They, along with Artie Taylor, who plays drums on six of the sessions, were known as the Red Garland Trio.

The depth of their talents is on full display, both as individuals and working as a unit with Trane. All their time playing together with Davis really paid off. Two well-known names who also sat in on a session are Jimmy Cobb on drums and Freddie Hubbard on trumpet.

The tracks, laid out in chronological order, were released as albums over the following eight years. Beginning in 1957, they are Coltrane, Traneing In, Soultrane, Lush Life, Settin’ The Pace, Standard Coltrane, Stardust, The Believer, Black Pearls, Bahia, and the accurately titled The Last Trane from 1965.

The boxed set is perfect because it appeals to a wide range of people. For casual jazz fans, it provides over six hours of marvelous music. For serious Trane devotees, the liner notes are so wonderfully thorough, the listener should be able to get college credit for independent study.  

Not only do they offer a biography and annotated sessions, but also some numbers are deconstructed to the point of listing times when the described moments are happening. You can watch the timer during “Little Melonae” and listen to Trane play the diminished runs “at 6:25, twice at 7:07, twice at 8:23.” There are even details to allow the committed completist to hear the albums in their original sequence.