Vinyl, LP, Album

Recorded on March 6, 1963 with Trane’s classic quartet (McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones), the same bulletproof group that put down Ascension, Ballads, Coltrane and of course, A Love Supreme.

Six months after Ballads and Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, the quartet booked the day at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in New Jersey with Bob Thiele, just two days after Tyner recorded his Nights Of Ballads And Blues LP, and one day before the John Coltrane And Johnny Hartman album, all recorded in the same room. We're not sure why the material found on Both Directions At Once wasn't packaged and released as an album in its day, but the session's master tape was ultimately destroyed years later to cut down on Impulse Records’ storage space (yes, really). Luckily, Trane himself was given a spare copy, which has quietly remained in the possession of his first wife Naima’s family, until now. On “Untitled Original 11383,” you can hear Trane chipping away at something new, hinting at the greatness later achieved on A Love Supreme. Says Coltrane’s son Ravi, who helped prepare the release: “In 1963, all these musicians are reaching some of the heights of their musical powers. On this record, you do get a sense of John with one foot in the past and one foot headed toward his future.” Includes a stunning recording of “Impressions,” which was untitled at the time of this session and later became a jazz standard after a live recording on the album of the same name. Also includes an updated version of “Slow Blues” (previously recorded for the Lush Life album) and other Trane favorites which were later released on live albums: “One Up, One Down,” “Vilia” and Nat King Cole’s “Nature Boy.” This deluxe edition includes a second LP containing seven unused takes, housed in die-cut gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves, foldout inserts and extensive liner notes. Recommended.

1 Untitled Original 11383
2 Nature Boy
3 Untitled Original 11386
4 Vilia
5 Impressions
6 Slow Blues
7 One Up, One Down