Impressions [Digipak]

Performer: John Coltrane
Artist: Eric Dolphy; McCoy Tyner; Reggie Workman; Roy Haynes; Elvin Jones
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: John Coltrane (soprano & tenor saxophones); Eric Dolphy (bass clarinet); McCoy Tyner (piano); Reggie Workman, Jimmy Garrison (bass); Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes (drums). Producer: Bob Thiele. Reissue producer: Bryan Koniarz. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on September 18, 1962 and April 29, 1963 and live at the Village Vanguard, New York, New York on November 3, 1961. Originally released on Impulse (42). Includes liner notes by Bill Kirchner. Digitally remastered using 20-bit technology by Kevin Reeves (Universal Mastering Studios-East). Personnel: John Coltrane (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Eric Dolphy (bass clarinet, alto saxophone); McCoy Tyner (piano); Jimmy Garrison, Reggie Workman (upright bass); Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes (drums). One of John Coltrane's most popular, influential recitals, IMPRESSIONS derives its two extended blowing tracks from the saxophonist's famous November 5, 1961 gig at New York's Village Vanguard. The brief, charming blues and ballad were recorded in the fall of 1962 and the spring of 1963, respectively. On IMPRESSIONS Coltrane acknowledged his roots, while striking out in new directions. The live version of "India," featuring dual bassists (Reggie Workman and Jimmy Garrison) and reed innovator Eric Dolphy (a regular member of the group in 1961-62), was an enormously influential work both in and out of the jazz community. Roger McGuinn of The Byrds often cited it as the inspiration for "Eight Miles High," and the vocalized, near-eastern overtones of Coltrane and Dolphy as the stimulus for his use of a heavily amplified 12-string guitar. It doesn't take much of an imaginative leap to see why. Coltrane was enchanted by the harmonic simplicity and melodic/rhythmic complexity of his new modality, and the bassists essay a moaning melodic backbeat, as Elvin Jones doubles up with a serpentine cymbal pulse. Coltrane pivots off of one note with reedy soprano testimonies that tease Jones into multiple climaxes, while Dolphy's rocking bass clarinet ragas amplify the melodic tension between the horns and the hypnotic repetition of the rhythm. "Impressions" is an affectionate uptempo nod to his earlier modal flights with Miles Davis, and it is clear from Jimmy Garrison's comanding pulse on this tune that Trane had found his bassist. Coltrane's new conception freed up rhythm sections from their metronomic duties of the past, so Garrison and Elvin respond to Trane's string of short phrases and torrid cries with a loose, counterpunching brand of conversational 4/4. Garrison's ability to move seamlessly between vamp and swing beats, his innate sense of form on non-metric materials, allowed the quartet to abandon strict timekeeping in favor of a freely breathing pulse. Jazz would never be the same.

Q (10/00, p.139) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Uplifting....he redefined what passed for both melody and musical structure..." Down Beat (12/00, p.94) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...[This] seems to have something for everyone. Transitional Trane, for sure."

Through both the force of his music and his personal character, saxophonist John Coltrane remains among the most influential jazz artists of all time. After a stint with the classic Miles Davis band of the late 1950s, the tenor titan embarked on a decade of staggering creativity. With the daunting GIANT STEPS, he exploded the possibilities of post-bop harmony; subsequently, he formed his "classic quartet" with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones--the ideal group for Coltrane's ever-expanding sonic vocabulary. As the '60s progressed, he also added the soprano sax to the mix and explored the use of modes, before finally moving on to the inspired free playing on records such as ASCENSION and INTERSTELLAR SPACE in his last years.

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