Live in Japan (John Coltrane Album)

Live In Japan (John Coltrane Album)

Live in Japan is a four-disc box set by American saxophonist John Coltrane and his last group, featuring the quintet of Coltrane, his wife/pianist Alice, saxophonist/bass clarinetist Pharoah Sanders, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Rashied Ali. The 4CD set compiles all the music issued as three albums in the seventies; 'Concert In Japan' (US 2LP), 'Coltrane In Japan' (Japan 3LP) and 'Second Night In Japan' (Japan 3LP). (Some of this material was also reissued as two 2LP sets in 1980 by MCA under the titles 'Coltrane In Tokyo Vol. 1' and 'Coltrane In Tokyo Vol. 2') The first CD issues were by Impulse! Japan as two 2CD sets: 'Live In Japan Vol. 1' and 'Live In Japan Vol. 2.' The US 4CD edition includes both of these volumes, with identical mastering.

Recorded live on Coltrane's only Japanese tour in July 1966 at two Tokyo venues, Shinjuku Kosei Nenkin Hall and Sankei Hall, it is taken from mono radio broadcasts. It is notable for the presence of alto saxophone, played both by Coltrane and Sanders.

By this point in his career, Coltrane was firmly enmeshed into the avant-garde style of jazz. Sanders, who was an innovator of free jazz, influenced Coltrane's playing through his technical use of overblowing and fierce vibrations of the reed, and this record is remarkable for its use of multiphonics, overtones, and other extended musical techniques from both players.