John Coltrane 'The Fearless Leader' album

Prestige’s Bob Weinstock offered John Coltrane a recording contract as a leader in the spring of 1957, roughly five months after the Miles Davis quintet completed its last marathon recording session for the label. At the time, Prestige made a practice of recording what were called blowing sessions—turning teams of musicians loose on standards and the occasional original, without rehearsals or any detailed preparation other than engineer Rudy Van Gelder getting the sound right. For nearly a year prior to his signing, Coltrane frequently recorded for Prestige as a sideman—he was one of the most prolific guests on the label—and would continue to contribute his horn to other musicians’ blowing sessions for several more months.

Fortunately for posterity, Coltrane’s prolific ways in the studio allow us to follow his blossoming in thorough detail. His tone, once considered an emulation of Dexter Gordon with a dash of Sonny Stitt, gradually assumed the distinct, blunt-spoken, authoritative profile that could only be his own. He went further into the harmonic possibilities of each changing chord, sharpening his technique and playing more notes until they whizzed past the listener in a blur—the famous “sheets of sound,” in critic/annotator Ira Gitler’s words. Moreover, Coltrane’s first records as a leader took shape during a crucial period of his life.

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John Coltrane - The Fearless Leader