Mobley, Hank / Coltrane, John – Tenor Conclave

The complete album + 1 bonus track - limited edition pressing on 180gm vinyl. The year 1956 when Tenor Conclave was recorded represented a transitional period in the musical career of John Coltrane. He had first joined the Miles Davis Quintet in 1955 and would form his own celebrated quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones in 1960. What we have here with Tenor Conclave is Coltrane in equal collaboration with four other giants of the tenor saxophone, Hank Mobly, Al Cohn, and Zoot Sims. Presenting the four players together under the group name of Tenor Conclave was an imaginative A&R idea by Prestige, but because of Coltrane's growing fame and the obvious marketing opportunities it presented, later pressing had Coltrane as the headline name on the cover, and Tenor Conclave as the album title. Includes the bonus track 'Polka Dots & Moonbeams'. An unusually clarifying and multiply successful confrontation. The LP represents a valuable A&R idea and is an indication of a reenergization of the creative thinking at Prestige that should lead to an important year for them -and for us. - * 1/2 Nat Hentoff, DownBeat