Unearthed Tiberi Tapes reveal Coltrane’s radical late-era explorations

Centennial tributes to John Coltrane center on The Tiberi Tapes—roughly 60 hours of private live recordings from 1960–64 captured in clubs and later released by Impulse!. Curated by Frank Tiberi, the tapes document Coltrane’s move beyond structured tunes into extended, improvisational explorations with players like Archie Shepp, Rashied Ali, and Pharoah Sanders, offering a rare window into the social, spontaneous energy that fed his late style and foreshadowed the 1965 Ascension, a radical, 40-minute suite that challenged audiences and helped redefine jazz; new releases and performances (Coltrane 100) continue to illuminate his quest for endless music.