The effervescence and collaboration of jazz music in 1950s New York City led to many of my favorite records before or since. John Coltrane’s 1959 album Blue Note blue train is one of my favorites, for its sound and the way it marks a transition in his playing, a step forward from the restrictions of Hard Bop. When he recorded blue train he was working as a member of Thelonius Monk’s band, between stints with Miles Davis. A year and a half later blue train Coltrane would record kind of blue with Miles and two weeks later he would record Giant stepplacing it at the center of jazz innovation at the dawn of the 1960s. blue train is different in terms of playing style and harmonics from Coltrane, and he wrote all but one of the songs. Coltrane’s band for the recording included Miles’ kind of blue rhythm section of Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. They brought pianist Kenny Drew into the band. Jazz Messenger Lee Morgan plays trumpet. Future Jazz Messenger Curtis Fuller filled in the trombone sextet. blue train is a great snapshot of Jazz and John Coltrane in 1959 and a foreshadowing of where they were headed. I will present the title song blue train on Mainstream and Modern tonight at ten.