The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings is a 1995 box set by jazz musician John Coltrane. It features all of the recordings Coltrane made for Atlantic Records, spanning January 15, 1959, to May 25, 1961. During Coltrane's Atlantic years, he made important recordings such as Giant Steps and My Favorite Things, recorded albums with Milt Jackson, Don Cherry, and Eric Dolphy and made his debut on the soprano saxophone.

Atlantic albums

Coltrane recorded eight albums for Atlantic, plus two compilation albums released posthumously. See the individual articles for discussions of these albums, all of which are included in the Atlantic box:

Outtakes

The seventh CD of this set features all of Coltrane's Atlantic outtakes (the rest were lost due to fire), including no fewer than 10 incomplete and alternative versions of "Giant Steps".

Reception

The Penguin Guide to Jazz assigned its "Crown" award to the box set, in addition to giving it a four-star rating (of a possible four). In spite of the accolade, authors Richard Cook and Brian Morton noted that the box set presents a problem for collectors who already own the constituent albums (all of which were in print at the time of the box set's release), but who are seeking the additional material only available on the seventh disc. Cook and Morton also took issue with what they deemed an "ugly title" for the set. Allmusic gave the album a five-star rating (of a possible five). Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "the scope of this music is, quite simply, breathtaking — not only was Coltrane developing at a rapid speed, but the resulting music encompasses nearly every element that made him a brilliant musician, and it is beautiful."

Track listing

(The LP each song originally appeared on is listed in parentheses) Disc 1 Disc 2 Disc 3 Disc 4 Disc 5 Disc 6 Disc 7 (outtakes)

Personnel

Recorded between January 15, 1959, and May 25, 1961, in New York City.