John Coltrane - Ascension (1966 Japanese Impulse! Stereo Original LP)

John Coltrane - Ascension | Vinyl LP - 1966 Japanese Impulse! Stereo Original (SH-3076, King Record Co. Ltd.)

This is a recording that divided jazz when it arrived and has not stopped dividing listeners since. Eleven musicians walk into Van Gelder Studio on June 28, 1965 and play one continuous piece. No arrangements beyond a set of ensemble interludes Coltrane sketched beforehand. No written solos. The horn players were given the order of their solos in advance and nothing else.

The full ensemble opens. Coltrane takes the first solo. After each soloist, the ensemble returns at full volume before the next player steps forward. Dewey Johnson follows Coltrane. Johnson plays a solo that has been described as one of the most disturbing and exposed passages in jazz recording. He never made another professional recording, suffered from mental illness and disappeared from the music world in the 1980s. Pharoah Sanders, Freddie Hubbard, John Tchicai, Archie Shepp and Marion Brown each take their turns. Tyner solos. Art Davis and Jimmy Garrison play a bass duet. The concluding ensemble closes the piece.

This 1966 Japanese pressing (SH-3076) was manufactured by King Record Co. Ltd. This is the first Japanese pressing of the album.