Arriving just a year before the epochal shift of A Love Supreme, Live at Birdland anticipates the period of stunning artistic development John Coltrane was experiencing in his final years recording for Impulse! Contrary to it's title, the album offers 3 live recordings from the stage of midtown Manhattan's Birdland jazz club on October 8, 1963 alongside 2 studio recordings made at Rudy Van Gelder's Englewood Cliffs studio the following month - all featuring Coltrane with his legendary quartet of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones. Highlights include the original "Alabama, " written in response to the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, and a live read of Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue" with Coltrane offering a commanding lead on soprano saxophone. Verve Acoustic Sounds Series is mastered from the original analog tapes by Matthew Lutthans, pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings (QRP).