The LP (33 1/3-rpm) and 45-rpm records were competing high-fidelity formats introduced by CBS and RCA in the late 1940s. The 45-rpm was designed for single songs, while the LP accommodated longer classical recordings. Both formats eventually coexisted in the market, with LPs becoming highly profitable for record companies, though they were largely displaced by compact discs in the 1980s and remain niche products today.
Previously unreleased recordings of John Coltrane's nightclub performances from 1960–1964, captured by saxophonist Frank Tiberi, are being released by Impulse! Records to mark the centenary of Coltrane's birth. The tapes document Coltrane's experimental explorations and improvisations during residencies at jazz clubs in Manhattan, Washington DC, and Philadelphia, revealing his creative process before recording his landmark album A Love Supreme.