First play of John Coltrane's Lost ALBUM..

so the story goes that I first got to hear John Coltrane's music at a Caister weekender age 17... it was Bob Jones in the backroom to around a dozen dancers... Giant Steps or Impressions... I think Steps. I was confused but enthralled enough to go up to Dr Bob with my notepad and pen (as you did back then). Fast forward a few years to 1988 and I include John Coltrane's ' favourite things' on my Jazz Juice Vol 8 compilation. The point being that we were playing modal jazz in the clubs back then, and alongside 'Brother John' by Yusef Lateef and 'Half and Half' by Jimmy Garrison, these tunes were getting played alongside Fela and the Mighty Ryeders at peak time.
The music of Coltrane as a DJ works on so many levels... as transition material, straight up battle dance or for those end of night meditative conclusions... tunes like Ole, Bahia, Like Sonny, The night has a thousand Eyes... all killers...

Imagine how I reacted when Dahlia from Impulse records told me back in January at Winter Jazz in New York that the record label was releasing some 'Lost' Rudy Van Gelder recorded , Bob Thiele produced music featuring the classic quartet from 1963!

Desperate to get my ears on the gear I finally heard the album last week... and it certainly doesn't disappoint.. there are 2 brand new originals, a studio version of another track we'd only heard live versions of 'one up one down' and some killer versions of Impressions, Vilia and a stunning trio version (without Mc Coy Tyner) of Nature Boy which I was given a premier on in yesterday's BBC 6 show... To be told that I was the first broadcaster anywhere in the world to get to play this was a huge privilege... forget being first to play a Kendrick, Burial or Fourtet... it doesn't get better than pressing play on a never heard before John Coltrane track... listen at around 44 mins on yesterdays show here... https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b5sjgv