Frank Tiberi, a longtime Easton, Massachusetts resident and Berklee College of Music faculty member, has unveiled a rare collection of live recordings featuring jazz legend John Coltrane. The four-LP box set, titled “John Coltrane: The Tiberi Tapes,” is scheduled for release on November 6, coinciding with celebrations marking Coltrane’s centennial.
Tiberi’s recordings, made clandestinely between 1960 and 1964, offer unique insight into a transformative period in Coltrane’s career. Having recently departed from Miles Davis’s band, Coltrane was developing what would become his classic quartet with pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and bassist Jimmy Garrison. The tapes capture Coltrane’s live performances at intimate Philadelphia venues, where he often experimented and refined new musical ideas in front of audiences.
“These are treasures that have long been discussed,” said Ashley Kahn, the author who contributed liner notes to the release. Kahn emphasized the significance of the recordings for jazz enthusiasts, noting that even some of Tiberi’s bandmates had never heard the tapes before their public unveiling.
Tiberi, who is 97, was himself an accomplished musician and woodwind specialist in Philadelphia’s orchestra scene before joining Woody Herman’s big band in 1976. He began recording Coltrane surreptitiously with minimalist equipment, hiding a condenser microphone and reel-to-reel tape recorder in his satchel during performances. Tiberi recalled the technical challenges of changing tapes unnoticed during shows, which sometimes resulted in unlabeled recordings and variable audio quality.
Despite these limitations, the tapes have been hailed by musicians for their revelatory content. Joe Lovano, a saxophonist who heard the recordings decades ago, described the live rendition of “Giant Steps” as “a masterpiece” that contrasts with Coltrane’s well-known studio version. Lovano is slated to participate in a Coltrane centennial concert on November 21 at the Berklee Performance Center alongside other notable performers.
The live recordings highlight a different facet of Coltrane’s artistry, especially in smaller venues with attentive audiences. “He was practicing, rehearsing, and exploring new ideas in public every night,” Kahn said. Extended performances, including an 18-minute version of “Satellite,” reveal Coltrane’s willingness to push boundaries and engage listeners deeply.
Tiberi’s association with Coltrane’s work extended into his tenure with Woody Herman’s band, where he arranged Coltrane compositions such as “Count Down” and “Giant Steps” and eventually became the band’s director shortly before Herman’s death in 1987. Since joining Berklee’s faculty in 1995, Tiberi has utilized the tapes as teaching tools, influencing generations of musicians including fellow saxophonist George Garzone.
Despite his advanced age, Tiberi remains active in performance and education. He recently played with Lovano at the Rochester International Jazz Festival and continues to give private lessons weekly. The release of the “Tiberi Tapes” has brought renewed attention from historians, journalists, and jazz scholars worldwide.
“They waited 60 years for it,” Tiberi remarked, reflecting on the long anticipation surrounding these historic recordings.