Listen to John Coltrane's 1957 Album 'The Cats' in Its Entirety

John Coltrane is often credited with pioneering jazz music’s many subgenres. Yet Coltrane’s 1957 album The Cats is frequently overlooked when analyzing the musician’s extensive and immensely successful career. However, the album is paragon in the hard-bop subgenre movement, demonstrating the vibrant sounds of Midwestern jazz. Recorded in Detroit, The Cats acts as a time capsule of the city’s music in the 1950s, with the Motor City serving as home to a slew of legendary jazz musicians in that era, including Coltrane himself. Detroit jazz greats Kenny Burrell, Tommy Flanagan, Doug Atkins and Louis Hayes also assisted in the recording of this album.