House That Trane Built: Story of Impulse Rec

Gil Evans | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 6, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 4
• Label: Impulse Records
• ASIN: B000FC2G8C
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,670 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This 4-CD set marks the 45th anniversary of Impulse Records and also serves as audio accompaniment to Ashley Kahn's book, The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records. John Coltrane was the first major artist to sign with ABC-Paramount's fledgling subsidiary in 1961 and it was an inspired choice, his rising prominence and adventurous spirit immediately identifying Impulse with a dynamic shift in jazz. With its gatefold album covers and black and orange graphics, Impulse also added some visual panache to the revolution. While Coltrane--represented here by tracks such as "Greensleeves," "Impressions" and a segment from his signature A Love Supreme--was clearly the label's inspiration, Bob Thiele was one of the great jazz record producers, bent on documenting the best veteran musicians as well as the avant-garde. You hear it in superb tracks here from Earl Hines, Count Basie and Coleman Hawkins, as well as stellar performances by major figures of modern jazz like Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins and Charles Mingus. There are also plenty of appearances by Coltrane’s associates, like McCoy Tyner and Alice Coltrane, as well as the revolutionaries that Coltrane and Thiele nurtured, among them Archie Shepp, Albert Ayler and Pharoah Sanders. It all contributes to a survey of what was most vital in jazz in the 1960s and early '70s that no other single label could manage. --Stuart Broomer

Product Description

No description available.
Genre: Jazz Music
Rating:
Release Date: 0000-00-00
Media Type: Compact Disk

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very nice but limited overview, June 15, 2006

By 

Dazedcat (Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: House That Trane Built: Story of Impulse Rec (Audio CD)

If nothing else, this four cd set gives a nice overview of the Impluse jazz label and shows the impact it had on modern jazz. What's really revealing is the diversity of music that was recorded. It wasn't just screaming atonal tenor saxophones; there was Ben Webster, Count Basie, Earl Hines as well as hard bop illuminaries such as Art Blakey, Roy Haynes and others. In short there was a lot of musical styles to be had, and this might surprise some who always thought of Impulse as just Trane or Pharoah Sanders.

The shortcoming of this set however is the time limitations that four cd's offer. There is no way to get as much music on here as the label truly deserves. So you're stuck with the personal choices of Ashley Kahn who compiled this set and who also wrote the book about the label. Mostly I can't quibble with the choices, but how Sam Rivers fails to show up here is beyond my comprehension. Yet, the thirty three minute "The Creator Has A Master Plan" by Pharoah Sanders IS here as is "Gypsy Queen" by the late great guitarist Gabor Szabo......so all is not lost.

The packaging is nice enough, the mastering is impeccable and the price for such great music is right. I just wish there were a couple of more cd's in this collection. A label such as Impulse deserves the super deluxe treatment.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Revelatory Collection - ****1/2, August 4, 2006

By 

B. Niedt (Cherry Hill, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: House That Trane Built: Story of Impulse Rec (Audio CD)

Impulse Records rode point in the progressive jazz movement of the 1960's and early 1970's, the end of what is considered jazz's last "Golden Age". In the sixteen years of its existence as a subsidiary of ABC Records, Impulse brought together many jazz legends and young upstarts, from Earl "Fatha" Hines and Count Basie to Pharoah Sanders and Alice Coltrane. And of course there was their standard-bearer, John Coltrane, who enjoyed his last and most creatively productive years there, offering among others, his masterpiece, "A Love Supreme". This four-disc set presents the wealth of artists and styles that worked under the prestigious orange-and-black umbrella of Impulse: names like Gil Evans, Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, Freddie Hubbard, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Archie Shepp, McCoy Tyner, Gato Barbieri, Ahmad Jamal, and many others. It's all in here, the cool, the post-bop, the avant-garde, and the chronological progression is fascinating, as the music moves from a more traditional to a more radical voice, echoing the tumult of the 1960's. (Case in point: the middle section of Pharoah Sanders' "The Creator Has a Master Plan" - music doesn't get more "out there" than this.) Impulse had the reputation as a haven for the young, black, "angry" tenor sax player, and while several of their artists may have fit that profile, there was really much more variety to the music. Other influences were evident, like Eastern mysticism, (Pharoah Sanders with Leon Thomas, and Alice Coltrane), and the growing cross-pollination of rock and soul/funk (Gabor Szabo, Keith Jarrett) reflecting jazz's next major direction, "fusion". There are some familiar pieces here, especially those from John Coltrane, but much of it is revelatory, especially to the casual jazz fan like me. The packaging for this box set is nothing spectacular (though it is reminiscent of the glossy "gatefold" covers of the original LPs), but that apparently helps keep the price reasonable for a four-disc collection of over four hours of classic jazz. It's a rich and rewarding musical journey.

(Note: If you are curious but don't wish to invest in the whole set, there is also a budget-priced one-disc sampler available. Also released, concurrent with this set, is a series of single-disc compilations of artists such as John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, Charles Mingus, McCoy Tyner, and others. I've purchased the Keith Jarrett collection and highly recommend it.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scottanthony, February 10, 2007

By 

SAH "SAH" - See all my reviews

This review is from: House That Trane Built: Story of Impulse Rec (Audio CD)

I have been listening/collecting Impulse albums for almost 25 years. It is very nice to see such a collection that was clearly put together with quite a bit of care and interest. Sounds wonderful and the song selection is superb. My only minor quibble is that it would have been nice to have one more CD devoted to more of the later releases especially with artists from the label that are not represented (i.e. Sam Rivers, Ornette Coleman and a little more from some others (Johnny Hartman, Sonny Rollins, Archie Shepp). Very nice job - and the Ashley Kahn book makes this a wonderful weekend getaway