The Classic Quartet - Complete Impulse! Studio Recordings (1998)

"Here it is: eight CDs worth of John Coltrane's classic quartet, comprised of bassist Jimmy Garrison, pianist McCoy Tyner, and drummer Elvin Jones, recorded between December of 1961 and September of 1965 when the artist followed his restless vision and expanded the band before assembling an entirely new one before his death. What transpired over the course of the 8 CD's of this box set is nothing short of a complete transfiguration of one band into another one, from a band that followed the leader into places unknown to one that inspired him and pushed him further. All of this transpired in the span of only 3 years. The group that the saxophonist had assembled for Coltrane in 1962, a band that had been together a little while and had performed together at the Village Vanguard (the tracks that include the quartet without Eric Dolphy from "Impressions" are included here) in a variety of settings, is almost nothing like the band that made "Kulu Se Mama" in 1965. (...) It's a must." (Thom Jurek, Allmusic)