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John Coltrane’s Tiberi Tapes Brings a Private Live Archive Into View

John Coltrane: A new Impulse! release draws 11 performances from recordings made by fellow saxophonist Frank Tiberi.
John Coltrane plays soprano saxophone at Sankei Hall in Tokyo on July 11, 1966. Photo: K. Abe/Shinko Music/Getty Images.

A new Impulse! release draws 11 performances from recordings made by fellow saxophonist Frank Tiberi.

John Coltrane’s The Tiberi Tapes arrived November 6 through Impulse! Records. The release is part of the centennial celebration of the saxophonist’s birth. The release announcement details the project.

The recordings began in 1960, when Frank Tiberi started taping Coltrane in Philadelphia and New York. He used a portable reel-to-reel recorder to study what he heard at the performances.

   

The resulting private collection grew to more than 80 reels and roughly 26 hours. These were audience recordings made in clubs, rather than controlled studio sessions.

The new selection opens with two versions of “Giant Steps” at different tempos. Other pieces include “Impressions,” “Satellite,” “Resolution” and an untitled original in F minor.

The archive’s documentation was uneven, with some tapes lacking complete venue or musician details. That makes the release valuable as a record of performances without turning every surviving reel into a fully documented session.

A separate complete-recordings edition is scheduled to ship in early 2027. Limited to 750 copies, it combines the larger audio archive with a collectible LP and book, distinct from the 11-selection release available now.

   

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