- Artist:
- John Coltrane
Africa/Brass
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Release date: 24 April 2026
"Africa/Brass," released in 1961, was John Coltrane's first album for Impulse! Records and a turning point in his recorded output. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's studio and produced by Creed Taylor, the project expanded Coltrane's working quartet into a large ensemble, pairing his searching tenor and soprano saxophone with dense, brass-heavy orchestrations by Cal Massey.
Arrangements by Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner helped shape the album's distinctive sound, weaving tuba, euphonium, French horns, and more into a powerful backdrop for Coltrane's improvisations. With key contributions from trumpeters Booker Little and Freddie Hubbard, bassist Reggie Workman, drummer Elvin Jones, and others, "Africa/Brass" reframed the idea of a "big band." One of the most important early Impulse! releases, "Africa/Brass" announced Coltrane's arrival on the "house that Trane built" with radical clarity.
VERVE ACOUSTIC SOUNDS SERIES: mastered fully analogue from the original tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound, QPR pressing (180 g), firm tip-on gatefold (Stoughton Printing), padded inner sleeve.
Tracklisting:
A1. Africa
B1. Greensleeves
B2. Blues Minor