Besides achieving a very personal and characteristic sound, John Coltrane opened the way to free jazz, allowing himself to play long and complex improvisations that increasingly strayed from the tunes in which they were based. However, Coltrane had always been a beautiful ballad player, and even in the last year of his life, when his music had become far freer and more unorthodox than in 1962, he told producer George Wein that he wasn't really sure about the musical direction he was taking. Ballads became an instant classic, beloved both by Coltrane fans and by those not so deeply concerned about jazz.

THE COMPLETE LP + 4 BONUS TRACKS - 180-GRAM VIRGIN VINYL - INCLUDES SPECIALLY PREPARED ESSAY BY JAZZ WRITER BRIAN MORTON - LIMITED EDITION