John Coltrane - The Tiberi Tapes! (Impulse)

[mikeweil]

Interesting to hear Trane playing Giant Steps on a live recording. In  comparison the well known studio version now sounds to me like he was on speed or something.

[mhatta]

Both the performance and the sound quality far exceeded my expectations. I think this is a fantastic live recording. “Giant Steps” is great, but “Satellite” is this good (including McCoy) —I wonder why it never made it into their live repertoire. I definitely want to hear the rest of the recordings.

[king ubu]

15 hours ago, gvopedz said:

I have no problem with the sound of the recording.

If the recording appears on CD, I will buy it.

It will:

https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/UCCI-1062

Just giving the LP a first spin (arrived from Barcelona today) and really enjoying it. Same thought about "Satellite". Too bad Coltrane stuck to relatively few tunes in concerts (often to spectacular results no less, but still)

[tranemonk]

18 hours ago, JSngry said:

To buy or not is not for me to say, but that is definitely worth hearing (to these of one's ability) a few times or more.

I'm listening now... I'm up in the air.. I think it will come down to the number of Cds. I need to go back and listen to some of the other live Trane I've got (The European Tours to start) to get a sense of whether it's worth it or I have enough.. Years ago I would have jumped at this... Now... I'm getting older and pickier. 

[tranemonk]

Okay not to hijack this thread.. but after listening briefly to the Tiberi release and the Live Trane set (which I need to dig into again in its' entirety)... I'm sure folks on this board can provide some insight on the following question. 

What are your top 3 Coltrane live releases? Thanks. 

[felser]

21 minutes ago, tranemonk said:

Okay not to hijack this thread.. but after listening briefly to the Tiberi release and the Live Trane set (which I need to dig into again in its' entirety)... I'm sure folks on this board can provide some insight on the following question. 

What are your top 3 Coltrane live releases? Thanks. 

Off the top of my head:

1 - Complete Village Vanguard

2 - Live Trane: European Tours

3 - Concert in Japan (complete 4 CD version)

special mention to 'Live at Birdland' and 'Selflessness', which have superior quality but are lacking in quantity.

[JSngry]

This is not really "equivalent" to any other live package due to the date. It's a window that we haven't had, at least not to this extent.

That's not the only consideration, but it's one that should not be overlooked imo.

[Eric]

On 4/28/2026 at 5:12 PM, barnaba.siegel said:

 

There is a full version now:
 

 

Based on this, I can move beyond the SQ and dig the music.  Still, I am apt to go small versus the 68 disc set 😃

[tranemonk]

On 4/29/2026 at 6:04 PM, JSngry said:

This is not really "equivalent" to any other live package due to the date. It's a window that we haven't had, at least not to this extent.

That's not the only consideration, but it's one that should not be overlooked imo.

I think I understand what you mean but can you clarify? Why isn't this Tiberi set comparable to the several other live boxed sets?

[JSngry]

Because of the date covered. We're not yet into Classic Quartet and Beyond territory here. 

Or ok, this is the Classic Quartet, but at it's very beginning. They're playing "Giant Steps fo crissakes!!! MUCH was to follow.

[danasgoodstuff]

Favorite live Trane:

Complete VV

Carnegie Hall w/Monk

Cafe Half Note - both the official and the3 bootleg Creation

[tranemonk]

17 hours ago, JSngry said:

Because of the date covered. We're not yet into Classic Quartet and Beyond territory here. 

Or ok, this is the Classic Quartet, but at it's very beginning. They're playing "Giant Steps fo crissakes!!! MUCH was to follow.

And?? Are you saying you prefer the beginning of the Elvin/McCoy quartet or the later stuff? 

[Stompin at the Savoy]

Quote

Tiberi invested in a Magnavox TR-100, a reel-to-reel tape recorder that included a microphone, used 3-inch reels and recorded at 3-3/4 ips to increase recording time. It was heavy and clunky even though it was advertised as a portable unit. He began lugging it to Coltrane’s gigs, and began taping the performances, focusing on the saxophone solos. Sitting with the recorder on his lap in a cloth bag and running the microphone through his coat he learned to replace the reels “like a blind man,” threading the tape with precision in order to catch the next tune, hoping that there would be enough on each reel to catch a full number.

Quote

Tiberi’s focus was not on sonic fidelity either and there’s a wide range of listenability among the reels as a result. To maximize the amount of music he could put on the reels, he recorded on one track in one direction, then flipped the
reel and did the same on the other half of the tape

From https://www.everythingjazz.com/story/the-tiberi-tapes-a-new-addition-to-john-coltranes-discography-for-2026/

The slow speed kind of explains the pitchy quality of the recordings.  It often sounds to me like the speed is off and the pitch not standard.  

https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/1/1225/17/vintage-magnavox-tr-100tape-recorder_1_d250f172475f7aa8e879a1a41bdb861b.jpg

Edited 1 hour ago by Stompin at the Savoy

[JSngry]

1 hour ago, tranemonk said:

And?? Are you saying you prefer the beginning of the Elvin/McCoy quartet or the later stuff? 

Preference is not a consideration. Interest is, and it's total.