''The Believer'' is a jazz album by

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

released in 1964 on Prestige Records, catalogue 7292. It was recorded by

Rudy Van Gelder Rudolph Van Gelder (November 2, 1924 – August 25, 2016) was an American recording engineer who specialized in jazz. Over more than half a century, he recorded several thousand sessions, with musicians including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Theloni ...

in Hackensack, New Jersey in 1957 and 1958. As Coltrane's profile increased, for several years after his Prestige contract had expired, the label issued “new” Coltrane albums. The original album consists of three previously unissued tracks with Coltrane as a leader ("The Believer", "Nakatini Serenade" and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?") from two separate recording sessions in 1958. A CD version of the album released by the

Original Jazz Classics Original Jazz Classics (or OJC) is a record label that founded in 1983 as an imprint of Fantasy Records. Under this name original editions of jazz LPs have been reissued on CD and LP, and formerly on cassette as well. The recordings in the seri ...

label in 1996 has two additional tracks recorded in 1957, "Filidé" and "Paul's Pal", from the 1960

New Jazz Records Prestige Records is a jazz record company and label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock in New York City which issued recordings in the mainstream, bop, and cool jazz idioms. The company recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz music ...

release ''

The Ray Draper Quintet featuring John Coltrane ''The Ray Draper Quintet featuring John Coltrane'' is the second album by tuba player Ray Draper recorded in 1957 and released on the New Jazz label. Reception Scott Yanow of AllMusic reviewed the album: "Draper had ambitious dreams of making ...

'', catalogue 8228. Many versions of the album exist (

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

lists nine), including a 2015 vinyl re-release on the Waxtime label (catalogue 772003 LP) and a Japanese CD version with "20bit K2 Mastering". A 2006 digital media release by Prestige includes the two additional tracks from the 1996 CD release, but a 2014 Doxy Records release has only the three original tracks.

Reception

A review for

states: "this early solo outing finds Coltrane confident but just beginning to explore the kind of modalities with which he would soon revolutionize the world of jazz... Things to come are hinted at briefly in flurries of notes here and there, and it's fascinating to listen to the early work of this developing genius." The authors of ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...

'' called the album "a fascinating compilation for early sight and sound of young talent", and observed that "McCoy Tyner is the composer of the title-piece, two years before he joined Coltrane's group."

Track listing

# "The Believer" (

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...

) – 13:51 # "Nakatini Serenade" ( Calvin Massey) – 11:05 # "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?" ( Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) – 5:14 Bonus tracks # "Filidé" (Ray Draper) – 7:18 # "Paul's Pal" ( Sonny Rollins) – 7:13

Personnel

Tracks 1-3 *

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

Red Garland William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...

– piano *

Paul Chambers Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr. (April 22, 1935 – January 4, 1969) was an American jazz double bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, he has become one of the most widely-known jazz bassists of the hard bop era. ...

– bass * Donald Byrd – trumpet (#1-2) * Freddie Hubbard – trumpet (#3) *

Louis Hayes Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He ...

– drums (#1-2) * Art Taylor – drums (#3) Tracks 4-5 *

– tenor sax *

Gil Coggins Gilbert Lloyd "Gil" Coggins (August 23, 1924 – February 15, 2004) was an American jazz pianist. Coggins was born to parents of West Indian heritage.

– piano *

Ray Draper Raymond Allen Draper (August 3, 1940, New York City – November 1, 1982) was an American jazz tuba player. Early life and education Draper was born in New York City and attended the Manhattan School of Music in the mid-1950s. Career As a ...

–

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

Spanky DeBrest Jimmy "Spanky" DeBrest (April 24, 1937 in Philadelphia – March 2, 1973 in Philadelphia) was an American jazz bassist. DeBrest played with Lee Morgan in his early years in Philadelphia. In 1957 he was a member of Ray Draper's Quintet, Jackie Mc ...

– bass *

Larry Ritchie Larry Ritchie was a jazz drummer and record/CD producer. He was born in Brooklyn, New York as Lawrence Ritchie to Walter Ritchie, an electrician, and Pearl Ritchie, a domestic worker, both of whom were migrants from rural Virginia. He has recorded ...

– drums

References

1964 albums John Coltrane albums Prestige Records albums Albums produced by Bob Weinstock {{1960s-jazz-album-stub