John Coltrane The Impulse! Albums

A towering musical figure of the 20th century, saxophonist John Coltrane reset the parameters of jazz during his decade as a leader.

In late 1961, Impulse Records and McCoy Tyner were each young and getting started. The two came together that year: the label barely a year old with just ten albums in its catalog; the pianist from Philadelphia twenty-three, already a young veteran of various bands and recording situations. ~ Ashley Kahn @ Verve Music

John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once (2018) {2CD Set Impulse! 00602567492993} (Complete Artwork - Gatefold with 16 pages)
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© 1963, 2018 Impulse! / Verve / Universal | 0060256749299
Jazz / Modal Music / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

Years of canonization have obscured how John Coltrane was at a bit of crossroads in the early '60s, playing increasingly adventurous music on-stage while acquiescing to Impulse!'s desire to record marketable albums. Whenever he could, producer Bob Thiele would capture Coltrane working out new music with pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and bassist Jimmy Garrison. One of these sessions happened at Rudy Van Gelder's New Jersey studio on March 6, 1963, when Coltrane's quartet was in the thick of a residency at New York's Birdland and just before they were scheduled to cut an album with vocalist Johnny Hartman.

John Coltrane - Expression (1967) {Impulse!-Verve Originals B0015826-02 rel 2011}
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© 1967, 2011 Impulse! / Verve / UMG | Verve Originals Series | B0015826-02 | LP A-9120
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modal Music / Free Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Recorded at two sessions in early 1967, Expression represents John Coltrane's final recording sessions just months before his death. A varied and searching record, Coltrane shares space with fellow universal travelers Pharoah Sanders, Jimmy Garrison, Rashied Ali, and wife Alice Coltrane. This band, working hard during the time leading up to Coltrane's demise, was performing in the most spiritually reaching territory Coltrane would aspire to. This is evidenced by the burning tenor/drum duet section of "Offering," perhaps the highlight of these sessions. Coltrane and Ali spiral into the far reaches here with a boundless energy that somehow remains controlled and restrained even in its rawest moments.

John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman - John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (1963) {Impulse!-Verve Originals rel 2008}
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© 1963, 2008 Impulse! / Verve / UMG | Verve Originals Series | 0602517648975 | LP AS-40
Jazz / Standards / Vocal Jazz / Saxophone

John Coltrane's matchup with singer Johnny Hartman, although quite unexpected, works extremely well. Hartman was in prime form on the six ballads, and his versions of "Lush Life" and "My One and Only Love" have never been topped. Coltrane's playing throughout the session is beautiful, sympathetic, and still exploratory; he sticks exclusively to tenor on the date. At only half an hour, one wishes there were twice as much music, but what is here is classic, essential for all jazz collections.

John Coltrane - Live At The Village Vanguard Again! (1966) {Impulse!-Verve Originals B0015827-2 rel 2011}
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© 1966, 2011 Impulse! / Verve / UMG | Verve Originals Series | B0015827-2 | LP AS-9124
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Free Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

John Coltrane returns to the Village Vanguard – but his sound here is a lot more far-reaching than a few years before! The album's a great counterpart to the first Vanguard session – as it takes all of the bold, soaring energy of that date, and balances it with the newly introspective sound of the later Coltrane years – plus some of the freedoms learned from the Love Supreme era. The group here showcases the new territory explored by Coltrane – with Trane himself on tenor, soprano, and a bit of bass clarinet (echoing earlier Dolphy), plus Pharoah Sanders on additional tenor, Alice Coltrane on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Rasheid Ali on drums. The album only features 2 long tracks – an incredibly soulful version of "Naima", and a very firey version of "My Favorite Things", but one that begins with a haunting bass solo by Garrison!

John Coltrane and Archie Shepp - New Thing at Newport (1965) {2000 Impulse!}
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© 2000 UMG / Verve / Impulse! | 314 543 414-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Hard Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz

The classic John Coltrane Quartet made one of its final appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965. The tension among bandmembers is evident on the advanced versions of "One Down, One Up" and "My Favorite Things." Coltrane's performance is moving…yet weary. It's apparent the saxophonist wasn't getting the sound he wanted and by the end of the year he would take a different direction, hiring Pharoah Sanders and wife Alice Coltrane for the band. Tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp's earlier afternoon New Thing performance includes engaging versions of "Call Me by My Rightful Name" and "Gingerbread, Gingerbread Boy" (included as a bonus track on this package) with Bobby Hutcherson on vibes.

John Coltrane - Selflessness featuring My Favorite Things (1965) {Impulse!-Verve Originals B0015830-2 rel 2011}
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© 1963, 1965, 2011 Impulse! / Verve / UMG | Verve Originals Series | B0015830-2 | LP AS-9161
Jazz / Free Jazz / Post Bop / Modal Music / Saxophone

In the context of the decades since his passing and the legacy that's continued to grow, John Coltrane's Selflessness album bears an odd similarity to Bob Dylan's autobiographical book Chronicles. In Chronicles, Dylan tells the tale of his beginnings, jumping abruptly and confoundingly from his early years to life and work after his 1966 motorcycle accident, omitting any mention of his most popular and curious electric era. The contrast between these two eras becomes more vivid with the deletion of the years and events that bridged them. Released in 1965, Selflessness presents long-form pieces, likewise from two very distinct and separate eras of Coltrane's development.

John Coltrane - Coltrane (1962) {Impulse!-Verve Originals 0602517486287 rel 2007}
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© 1962, 2007 Impulse! / Verve / UMG | Verve Originals Series | 0602517486287 | LP AS-21
Jazz / Post Bop / Hard Bop / Modal Music / Saxophone

Considered by many to be his finest single album, Coltrane finds John Coltrane displaying all of the exciting elements that sparked brilliance and allowed his fully formed instrumental voice to shine through in the most illuminating manner. On tenor saxophone, he's simply masterful, offering the burgeoning sheets of sound philosophy into endless weavings of melodic and tuneful displays of inventive, thoughtful, driven phrases. Coltrane also plays a bit of soprano saxophone as a primer for his more exploratory work to follow. Meanwhile, bassist Jimmy Garrison, drummer Elvin Jones, and especially the stellar McCoy Tyner have integrated their passionate dynamics into the inner whole of the quartet.