Illumination

Elvin Jones, Jimmy Garrison, Sonny Simmons, McCoy Tyner | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 24, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Grp Records
• ASIN: B0000065KJ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #291,266 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Jazz Times

Illumination! is one of the Impulse! Catalog's oddest gems. Compositionally, the program is all over the lot; there's everything from blues variants to a Simmons-penned Afro-Scottish folk dance.

Product Description

Japanese exclusive 24 bit remastered reissue of 1963 album featuring McCoy Tyner. Originally issued on Impulse! Packaged in a limited edition miniature LP sleeve. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good things come in short packages, July 26, 2000

By 

Tyler Smith (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Illumination (Audio CD)

I'm tempted to downgrade this a half-star simply because Impulse for some reason saw fit to release it in its original LP configuration, which totaled a mere 32 minutes. Given that the vast majority of CD releases today feature alternate takes and previously unreleased material, it seems "Illumination" would be a prime candidate for some beefing up. No such luck.

The fact is you feel the brevity of the CD keenly because what's here is so good, and I can't downgrade Jones and Garrison for the fact there isn't more of it. This is a smoking contemporary jazz set that brings together three-quarters of John Coltrane's famous quartet, backed by three superb and all-too-seldom-heard hornmen: Prince Lasha, Charles Davis, and Sonny Simmons.

Faint-of-heart hornmen have never needed to apply to play in front of Jones, and these three show they are up to the task of barging through the spirited challenge the drummer lays down. Lasha rips through the opener, "Nuttin' Out Jones," hanging in superbly when McCoy Tyner decides, as he often did when playing with Coltrane, to lay out and let the horn take on playing with Jones and Garrison alone.

Davis has a great baritone solo on "Half and Half," and the vastly underrated Sonny Simmons makes an eloquent, fiery statement on "Gettin' On Way." Along the way we get a dose of lyricism in "Oriental Flower," and an odd twist and musical union of the type Jones is fond of throwing in, with "Aborigine Dance in Scotland."

So what the heck: after the 32 minutes are over, you'll simply play the CD over again, and enjoy it just as much as you did the first time.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Music, July 16, 1999

By 

Frank Bock - See all my reviews

This review is from: Illumination (Audio CD)

Illumination is basically the legendary John Coltrane Quartet, with three reed players standing in for Coltrane himself... which seems just about right! Here we have drummer Elvin Jones and bass player Jimmy Garrison utilizing an oportunity as leaders instead of their traditional sideman role. And, for Garrison, this would be his only instance playing this card. The tone is relaxed and the reed soloists (Prince Lasha on clarinet and flute, Sonny Simmons on alto sax and English horn, and Charles Davis on baritone sax) provide an interesting alternative to the bands usual boss. And of course that rhythm section (Elvin, Jimmy & McCoy) is just bad. You don't have to say nothin' about that. They just bad. Lastly, everyone but Elvin Jones throws in an original tune for good measure which makes the album even more unique. They didn't just play standards or other peoples songs. It's a shame that this group didn't exist more outside a few studio sessions...

5.0 out of 5 stars Neglected Gem Among Other Neglected Gems, June 22, 2010

By 

Leggo Ami (Richmond, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Illumination (Audio CD)

What a totally fun album. Slightly into the "new thing" camp, but very, very entertaining. How often do you hear English horn in jazz?

Worth the price of admission for "Aborigines Dance in Scotland" alone. Kids will love this silly piece reminescent of Roland Kirk.

"Neglected gem" has become a cliche, but this is definitely a supremely enjoyable disc that deserves wider recognition. I do wish it were longer.

This Impulse! reissue features no new information about the session (and there are no extra tracks). I could've lived without the borderline idiotic original liner notes (nitwit first person thoughts devoid of depth or any understanding of music).

If you can get a decent used copy under ten bucks, do it!