John Coltrane

The year 2026 marks the hundredth birthday of John Coltrane, whose groundbreaking artistry as a saxophonist, composer, and bandleader made him one of the most influential musical figures of the 20th century. To honor his immeasurable impact, Craft Recordings looks back on Coltrane’s early years as a bandleader with a carefully curated collection of original compositions and standards. Produced with the full support of the John Coltrane Estate, The Best of John Coltrane draws from the saxophonist’s 1957–1958 sessions—a period of rapid artistic development in which he shaped his own distinctive sound. These seminal recordings—including “Traneing In,” “Theme for Ernie,” and “Trinkle, Tinkle” (with Thelonious Monk)—helped cement Coltrane’s reputation as an innovative force in jazz.