JOHN COLTRANE ASCENSION
Original Released:1966
Remastered:2001
Label:Impulse
Format:Flac


This album played a profoundly important role in John Coltrane's final period. Recorded in June 1965, almost exactly two years before his death, this session marks Coltrane's final stepping off point into free jazz. The album also marks a division for Coltrane's fans, as there are some that applaud his final escape from jazz tradition while others simply couldn't follow him into the great unknown.

One way or another, Ascension refuses to be ignored. A stunning list of colleagues joins the legendary saxophonist on his final quest. Besides his famed regular quartet, avant-garde saxophonists Pharaoh Sanders and Archie Shepp, extra bassist Art Davis, and even trumpet star Freddie Hubbard, among others, produce an intense sonic assault. If you're sensitive to dissonant noise and uncontrolled barrages of sound, Adcension will offer you no comfort. However, the unbridled emotional onslaught that Coltrane unleashes here dwarfs any other artist's entire output. Love it or hate it, this is one disc that's sure to stay on your mind long after its din has faded.

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on June 28, 1965. Originally released on Impulse (95)

Tracklist
1."Ascension" Edition II – 40:56
2."Ascension" Edition I – 38:31


Order of soloists and ensembles

Edition II (40:25)

1.(Opening Ensemble)
2.Coltrane solo (3:10–5:48 )
3.(Ensemble)
4.Johnson solo (7:45–9:30)
5.(Ensemble)
6.Sanders solo (11:55–14:25)
7.(Ensemble)
8.Hubbard solo (15:40–17:40)
9.(Ensemble)
10.Tchicai solo (18:50–20:00)
11.(Ensemble)
12.Shepp solo (21:10–24:10)
13.(Ensemble)
14.Brown solo (25:10–27:16)
15.(Ensemble)
16.Tyner solo (29:55–33:26)
17.Davis, Garrison duet (33:26–35:50)
18.(Concluding Ensemble)

Edition I
1.(Opening Ensemble)
2.Coltrane solo (4:05–6:05)
3.(Ensemble)
4.Johnson solo (7:58–10:07)
5.(Ensemble)
6.Sanders solo (11:15–13:30)
7.(Ensemble)
8.Hubbard solo (14:53–17:50)
9.(Ensemble)
10.Shepp solo (18:55–21:40)
11.(Ensemble)
12.Tchicai solo (23:11–24:56)
13.(Ensemble)
14.Brown solo (26:23–28:31)
15.(Ensemble)
16.Tyner solo (29:39–31:36)
17.Davis, Garrison duet (31:36–33:30)
18.Jones solo (33:30–33:55)
19.(Concluding Ensemble)
Personnel
Marion Brown – alto saxophone
John Coltrane – tenor saxophone
Art Davis – upright bass
Jimmy Garrison – upright bass
Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
Dewey Johnson – trumpet
Elvin Jones – drums
Pharoah Sanders – tenor saxophone
Archie Shepp – tenor saxophone
John Tchicai – alto saxophone
McCoy Tyner – piano