JOHN COLTRANE - Ascension LP Impulse Stereo A-95 Van Gelder VG/EX FREE JAZZ RARE

$

30

Heavy gatefold jacket is VG (seams tight, very light ringwear, library catalog sticker upper left corner, slight moisture damage at edge at back (see pics).

LP is EX. Looks and sounds great. Library catalog sticker on Side 1 label.

John Coltrane ?– Ascension (Edition II)

Label: Impulse! ?– AS-95, Impulse! ?– A-95

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo

Country: US

Released: 1968

Genre: Jazz

Style: Free Jazz, Post Bop, Free Improvisation

Notes

This version features the later red and black Impulse/ABC labels with "A Product of ABC Records, Inc. New York, N.Y. 10019 - Made in the USA" printed along the bottom. There is a line's worth of empty space between the album title and the artist name (both above the spindle hole) on the labels.

First catalogue number on labels, second on cover.

Recorded 28 June, 1965 at Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

This is the 2nd pressing with the 1st take of the piece.

By accident Bob Thiele put out the wrong take. After he went through the initial press run, he switched the masters to the other take and inscribed edition II on the inside of the runout circle. So there are really two versions of ascension.

Mastering credits from runout info.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, etched): AS-95-A-1 EDITION II LW VAN GELDER

Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, etched): AS-95-B-1 EDITION II LW VAN GELDER

Matrix / Runout (Runout fragment side A+B, stamped): VAN GELDER

Ascension is the single recording that placed John Coltrane firmly into the avant-garde. Whereas, prior to 1965, Coltrane could be heard playing in an avant vein with stretched-out solos, atonality, and a seemingly free design to the beat, Ascension throws most rules right out the window with complete freedom from the groove and strikingly abrasive sheets of horn interplay. Recorded with three tenors (Trane, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp), two altos (Marion Brown, John Tchicai), two trumpet players (Freddie Hubbard, Dewey Johnson), two bassists (Art Davis, Jimmy Garrison), the lone McCoy Tyner on piano, and Elvin Jones on the drums, this large group is both relentless and soulful simultaneously. While there are segments where the ensemble plays discordant and abrasive skronks, these are usually segues into intriguing blues-based solos from each member. The comparison that is immediately realized is Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz of five years previous. However, it should be known that Ascension certainly carries its own weight, and in a strange sense makes Coleman's foray a passive adventure -- mostly due to an updated sonic quality (à la Bob Thiele) and also Trane's greater sense of passionate spiritualism. Timed at around 40 minutes, this can be a difficult listen at first, but with a patient ear and an appreciation for the finer things in life, the reward is a greater understanding of the personal path that the artist was on at that particular time in his development. Coltrane was always on an unceasing mission for personal expansion through the mouthpiece of his horn, but by the time of this recording he had begun to reach the level of "elder statesman" and to find other voices (Shepp, Sanders, and Marion Brown) to propel and expand his sounds and emotions. Therefore, Ascension reflects more of an event rather than just a jazz record and should be sought out by either experienced jazz appreciators or other open-minded listeners, but not by unsuspecting bystanders.