My Favorite Things

My Favorite Things is a seminal studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released in March 1961 on Atlantic Records. It marked Coltrane’s debut with the soprano saxophone, an instrument he began playing after receiving one from Miles Davis during a European tour in March 1960. This addition became a significant aspect of Coltrane’s sound.

Following his departure from Miles Davis’s band, Coltrane established the John Coltrane Quartet and commenced regular performances at New York’s Jazz Gallery in the summer of 1960. The quartet, comprising McCoy Tyner on piano, Steve Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums, was solidified by autumn. The sessions conducted just before Halloween produced the tracks for this album, as well as others later released as Coltrane Plays the Blues (1962) and Coltrane’s Sound (1964). The title track, “My Favorite Things,” is notable for its modal approach, reinterpreting the Rodgers and Hammerstein song from The Sound of Music into an extended exploration over two tonic chords, E minor and E major, in waltz time.

The album is distinguished by Coltrane and Tyner’s extended solos over modal vamps rather than traditional chord changes, contributing to the popularisation of modal jazz and Coltrane’s move towards more experimental forms. It also includes Coltrane’s arrangement of George Gershwin’s “But Not for Me,” showcasing his “Coltrane changes,” a complex chord progression technique that became a hallmark of his work.

My Favorite Things achieved commercial success and critical acclaim, becoming one of Coltrane’s most requested tunes and significantly advancing his public recognition. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 and attained gold record status in 2018, having sold 500,000 copies. The album was also ranked number 392 in Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).

In 1998, Rhino Records reissued the album as part of the Atlantic 50th Anniversary Jazz Gallery series, which included bonus tracks featuring both sides of the “My Favorite Things” single originally released in 1961.