Article Contributed by Shore Fire Media
Published on 2026-08-04
John Coltrane, the legendary saxophonist, composer, and cultural icon, would have celebrated his 100th birthday later this year on September 23. Just days after the historic centennial, Rhino will release Coltrane 100, the first comprehensive, cross-label career retrospective assembled for the jazz giant.
Coltrane 100 – Selections from 1951–1967 will be released October 2 as a deluxe six-LP audiophile vinyl boxed set through Rhino.com and Coltrane’s official store. A curated edition, Coltrane 100 – Highlights from 1957–1964, will arrive the same day on two-LP vinyl and CD.
Both editions were remastered by legendary audio engineer Bernie Grundman and feature a new essay by renowned Coltrane scholar Ben Ratliff. The six-LP box is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Optimal in Germany and housed in a slipcase with a 12-page booklet.
Purchases made through Rhino.com and select independent retailers will include an exclusive limited-edition 12-by-12-inch typography poster featuring the collection’s centennial artwork.
The landmark release brings together Coltrane’s complex recorded legacy, uniting historic recordings licensed from Prestige, Blue Note, Atlantic, Columbia, and Impulse! into one cohesive narrative spanning his first professional sessions in 1951 through his final boundary-pushing work in 1967.
The expansive tracklist charts one of the most remarkable creative evolutions in modern music. It documents Coltrane’s foundational years as an elite sideman and collaborator, including work alongside Dizzy Gillespie on “We Love to Boogie,” Miles Davis on “Two Bass Hit,” “If I Were a Bell,” “Milestones,” and “So What,” Thelonious Monk on “Well You Needn’t” and “Trinkle, Tinkle,” and Duke Ellington on “In a Sentimental Mood.”
The collection also follows Coltrane’s ascent as a bandleader through defining recordings including “Blue Train,” “Giant Steps,” “My Favorite Things,” a live performance of “India” featuring Eric Dolphy, and “A Love Supreme, Pt. 1 – Acknowledgement.”
In his introductory essay, Ratliff reflects on the tension between Coltrane’s famously humble nature and the commanding force of his playing:
“[Coltrane] was known for his humility...would it be a strange sort of humility to have had such a loud and commanding voice on his instrument, to begin a solo at full force, as he often did? Listening gives one access to the interior of people and things in a way that seeing does not...would it have been a strange sort of humility to make the insides of his instrument, its metal and reeds and moving parts, as well as the insides of his body, his breath and stamina and sometimes his faltering? He played past the expected end-posts of musical ideas and spilled over the sides of them.”
The release leads a broader celebration of Coltrane’s centennial, beginning August 4 with an event hosted by The Record Club at Public Records, a sonically immersive music venue in Brooklyn.
Coltrane’s birthday week, September 21–25, will include Pitchblack Playback immersive listening sessions in select cities.
Live tributes begin with the Ravi Coltrane Quartet performing a special run at the Blue Note in Los Angeles from September 22–24.
On Coltrane’s birthday, September 23, the celebration will reach both coasts. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center will present a book panel for Coltrane: A Visual Celebration of the Legend, while the Hollywood Bowl will stage Coltrane 100: Legacy, a symphonic performance featuring Grammy-nominated alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin.
Coltrane 100 – Selections from 1951–1967
Six-LP Tracklist
LP One
Side One
1. “We Love to Boogie” – Dizzy Gillespie Sextet
2. “Two Bass Hit” (Alternate Take) – Miles Davis Quintet
3. “John Paul Jones” – Paul Chambers
4. “If I Were a Bell” – Miles Davis Quintet
Side Two
1. “Straight Street” – John Coltrane
2. “While My Lady Sleeps” – John Coltrane
3. “Well You Needn’t” – Thelonious Monk
LP Two
Side One
1. “Trinkle, Tinkle” – Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane
2. “Slow Dance” – John Coltrane With The Red Garland Trio
3. “Blue Train” – John Coltrane
Side Two
1. “Pristine” – Art Blakey’s Big Band
2. “Milestones” – Miles Davis
3. “Oleo” (Live) – Miles Davis & John Coltrane
LP Three
Side One
1. “Bags & Trane” – Milt Jackson & John Coltrane
2. “So What” – Miles Davis
3. “Cousin Mary” – John Coltrane
Side Two
1. “Giant Steps” – John Coltrane
2. “Syeeda’s Song Flute” – John Coltrane
3. “I’ll Wait and Pray” – John Coltrane
4. “Naima” – John Coltrane
LP Four
Side One
1. “Like Sonny” – John Coltrane
2. “My Shining Hour” – John Coltrane
3. “Cherryco” – John Coltrane & Don Cherry
Side Two
1. “My Favorite Things” – John Coltrane
2. “Village Blues” – John Coltrane
LP Five
Side One
1. “Central Park West” – John Coltrane
2. “Mr. Syms” – John Coltrane
3. “Body and Soul” – John Coltrane
Side Two
1. “Blues to Elvin” – John Coltrane
2. “Everytime We Say Goodbye” – John Coltrane
3. “Equinox” – John Coltrane
LP Six
Side One
1. “India” (Live) – John Coltrane
2. “In a Sentimental Mood” – Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
Side Two
1. “My One and Only Love” – John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman
2. “Alabama” (Live) – John Coltrane
3. “A Love Supreme, Pt. 1 – Acknowledgement” – John Coltrane
4. “Stellar Regions” – John Coltrane
Coltrane 100 – Highlights from 1957–1964
Two-LP Tracklist
LP One
Side One
1. “Straight Street” – John Coltrane
2. “Trinkle, Tinkle” – Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane
3. “Blue Train” – John Coltrane
Side Two
1. “Milestones” – Miles Davis
2. “So What” – Miles Davis
3. “Giant Steps” – John Coltrane
LP Two
Side One
1. “Naima” – John Coltrane
2. “My Favorite Things” – John Coltrane
3. “Village Blues” – John Coltrane
Side Two
1. “Equinox” – John Coltrane
2. “A Love Supreme, Pt. 1 – Acknowledgement” – John Coltrane
CD Tracklist
1. “Straight Street” – John Coltrane
2. “Trinkle, Tinkle” – Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane
3. “Blue Train” – John Coltrane
4. “Milestones” – Miles Davis
5. “So What” – Miles Davis
6. “Giant Steps” – John Coltrane
7. “Naima” – John Coltrane
8. “My Favorite Things” – John Coltrane
9. “Village Blues” – John Coltrane
10. “Equinox” – John Coltrane
11. “A Love Supreme, Pt. 1 – Acknowledgement” – John Coltrane
