John Coltrane: Impressions (Verve Acoustic Sounds Series) [VERVE]

Why you'll love it

This Verve Acoustic Sounds Series edition is remastered on 180g vinyl in a gatefold jacket. DownBeat's Harvey Pekar gave it five stars, and it made Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.

This edition

• Verve Acoustic Sounds Series
• 180g vinyl
• Gatefold jacket
• Remastered
• Stereo mix

About the album

Impressions is two records sharing one sleeve, half Village Vanguard and half Van Gelder. The live sides come from Coltrane's November 1961 residency at the Greenwich Village club, the same run that gave the world Live at the Village Vanguard, with Eric Dolphy and bassist Reggie Workman sitting in. The studio pieces were cut in September 1962 and April 1963 at Rudy Van Gelder's, with Bob Thiele producing.

"India" is the heart of it, Workman and Jimmy Garrison doubling up on bass to approximate the drone of Hindustani classical music while Dolphy takes a long bass clarinet solo. The title track is Coltrane's tenor at full flight over McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones, with Dolphy laying out until the final chord. "Up 'Gainst the Wall" is a lean, bluesy sprint, and "After the Rain" is one of his loveliest ballads, with Roy Haynes taking over the drum stool.

In late 1965 the Byrds toured with a single tape on the bus, Ravi Shankar on one side and Impressions and Africa/Brass on the other, and Roger McGuinn said they played it 50 or 100 times through a Fender amp wired to the car. Their 1966 single Eight Miles High was a direct homage to "India." Frankly, it's a better use of a car stereo than anything we've managed since.

Also at Kops: more John Coltrane on vinyl · browse Classic Jazz

Tracklist

Listen

On Impulse! / Verve (cat# A-42), a reissue of the 1963 album.