We, John Coltrane Syndicate/ consisting of Wolf Schmaler (German,) Michel Delorme (France,) Fuji (Japan) and David Wild (USA-latest addition to our membership but originally a former noted discographer of John Coltrane,) are not happy that there are 9 mistakes on that CD as indicated below. But it is not a final report because Wolf and Michel have not received any review copy from Fantasy although their names are listed on a booklet as special thanks. I have been requesting Bill Belmont/ Fantasy to send us copies as soon as possible but sorry nothing happened since it was released in last month.

We are very sorry that Fantasy did not ask us to analyze the tapes while they were making this box-set, since the design of the package is so beautiful and wonderful. We just provided our latest analysis of JC’s European Tour to Fantasy, but we had no chance to listen to their original tapes. We had already got tapes of performances in France and analyzed them very carefully to make our report by ourselves. It took nearly 2 years ‘cause we had been studying about it along with reading newspapers, magazines, programs and interviews of those days. It was really hard work but I was pleased to supply our report to Fantasy when Bill Belmont asked me for help such as providing photos from my archives and the report of our analysis. Because we love Coltrane! and want to help any project since we got together at Juan-les-Pins, France in July 1995.

We are aware of discrepancies in several dates and venues for the concert recordings contained in our "Live Trane" box, but we stand by our information, which was taken primarily from tape boxes in our vaults. (Source material consisted of tapes made by producer/impresario Norman Granz during John Coltrane's 1961-63 European concert tours; these tapes conveyed to Fantasy after the latter's acquisition of Pablo Records in 1987.)

The package was approved for release by Alice Coltrane, who controls her late husband's estate, and who has expressed her concern about the problem of bootleg recordings (which have in the past been the source of much information about these concerts, and for which the Coltrane estate has never been paid).

A Postscript

Two comments: this note follows the outlines of the letter from Terri Hinte, in which apples and oranges are mixed to create something that does not sit well in the stomach.  As noted before, the fact that some of these recordings have appeared on bootlegs for which the artist was never reimbursed has no bearing on discographical research which seeks to correctly identify date and place of recording.  Fuji's comments about his relationship with the Coltrane family, and the types of research conducted to sort out the recordings from France, are a direct response to these insinuations.  One might as likely use Fantasy's argument against the detailed history of the Egyptian dynasties, because grave-robbers have profited from the contents of some of those tombs, and because the eighteenth and nineteenth century colonial powers were not usually careful to ask permission before shipping mummies and treasure pulled from the desert off to England, France, Germany (or where-ever) for study.

Fuji also provided me with further details on the Birdland broadcast.   He notes: " I visited Boris Rose in September 25 1991...  I wanted to
confirm the dates of Birdland and Half Note for my book. I knew that he taped many from radio broadcasting such as WADO-AM and WABC-FM and so on.   And he played me an original tape of that. So I certainly remember that these three tunes are from Birdland!!! Because it includes a characteristic announcement by Pee Wee Marquette!!! I reported about my visiting and listening tapes in Jazz Critique, Japanese magazine, no. 73 issued in December 30, 1991 along with a portrait of Boris Rose in his studio." (Fuji has some indications that a tape of the Ozone 10 bootleg from this broadcast may have wound up as part of the Granz collection).