John Coltrane’s debut as a leader, this 1957 album finds the saxophonist at the crossroads. He’d been fired by Miles Davis for drug abuse, retreated to Philadelphia to clean up, and would soon spend the rest of the year in his fruitful apprenticeship under Thelonious Monk. Switching between quartet and sextet, he’s backed by hometown friends on this excellent mix of standards, obscurities (“Time Was”), and originals. While the titles “Chronic Blues” and the classic “Straight Street” speak of the saxophonist’s troubles, the music throughout reveals the template for which he would soon become legend.