John Coltrane – Ascension: Edition I & II (LP Vinyl)
Product Details
Recorded just weeks after the historic Village Vanguard residencies that had pushed his classic quartet to its limits, Coltrane convened this extraordinary session at a moment when he was actively dismantling everything that had made him famous. The decision to release both takes acknowledges something important: there is no definitive version, only two equally valid eruptions from the same collective consciousness. This Verve Vault pressing brings the full uncompromised sequence to vinyl for a new generation of listeners willing to meet it on its own terms.
Released on Impulse! Records in 1966, Ascension stands as one of Coltrane's most radical and influential works. Subtitled "Edition I & II" to reflect the two complete takes recorded at the session, the piece is a nearly 40-minute large-ensemble performance marking his embrace of the avant-garde. Recorded on June 28, 1965 at Rudy Van Gelder's Englewood Cliffs studio and produced by Bob Thiele, the session assembled an expanded ensemble of 11 musicians. Alongside Coltrane's tenor sax are trumpeters Freddie Hubbard & Dewey Johnson; saxophonists Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown, John Tchicai, & Archie Shepp; pianist McCoy Tyner; bassists Art Davis & Jimmy Garrison; and drummer Elvin Jones. Initially controversial for it's intensity, Ascension is now recognized as a landmark of modern jazz and a defining statement of the emerging free-jazz movement. Presented together on 2-LP for the first time, the Verve Vault series is always mastered from analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.
Tracklist
UPC: 199957117982
Label: Verve
Release Date: 6.19.26
Format: LP Vinyl