Although
Coltrane only recorded one proper album for Blue Note (
Blue Train), he is credited as a sideman on several dates for the venerable jazz label. This disc paints the picture with two numbers from
Blue Train (the title track and "Locomotion") and cuts from dates with
Paul Chambers ("Just for the Love" from 1956's
Whims of Chambers),
Johnny Griffin ("Smoke Stack" from 1957's
Blowin' Session), and
Sonny Clark (the title track from 1957's
Sonny's Crib). Rounded out by an early side with
McCoy Tyner ("One and Four") and a sample from
Coltrane's only meeting with
Cecil Taylor (
Kenny Dorham's "Shifting Down"),
Trane's Blues will no doubt be of interest to fans looking beyond the tenor great's extensive Prestige, Atlantic, and Impulse! catalogs. ~ Stephen Cook