Originally released July 1964
Reissued January 21, 2022
Impulse
1xLP
In retrospect, there are no 'minor albums' in Coltrane catalogue, only those that stand above the rest. Crescent is arguably there that distinction begins. The original liner notes to Crescent have a quote by Amiri Baraka that refers to Coltrane as "daringly human," which fits the ethos of an album caught between ballads and bombast. The second half of the record is entirely void of a solo from the man himself, instead opting to give the shine to his bandmates (McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones). It's also the album that immediately precedes Love Supreme, with traces of Coltrane's innate spirituality and daring beginning to take form.