LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

It's hard to believe after hearing the eloquence of "Then I'll Be Tired of You" or the title track, but John Coltrane's ballad mastery was the last of his skills to receive wide appreciation. The notion that Coltrane the balladeer was as commanding as Coltrane the uptempo wizard or Coltrane the blues player finally gained acceptance in the early 60s, when this album first appeared and quickly became an important exhibit in the reconsideration. The extended performances boast additional delights, including Paul Chambers's arco bass on "Stardust," Red Garland's well-paced choruses on "Time After Time," some of Wilbur Harden's best trumpet work on "Love Thy Neighbor," and Freddie Hubbard's earliest on "Then I'll Be Tired of You"; they were recorded at Coltrane's final two sessions for Prestige, with the tracks from December 1958 making their first CD appearance outside the comprehensive boxed set John Coltrane: The Prestige Recordings .Stardust, Time After Time, Love Thy Neighbor, Then I'll Be Tired of Youwith Wilbur Harden, Freddie Hubbard, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, Arthur Taylor