Impressions (John Coltrane album)

1963 studio album / live album by John Coltrane

Impressions

Studio album / Live album by

John Coltrane

Released| July 1963[1][2]
Recorded| November 3, 1961; September 18, 1962 and April 29, 1963
Venue| Village Vanguard, New York City
Studio| Van Gelder (Englewood Cliffs)
Genre| Avant-garde jazz, post-bop, modal jazz
Length| 36:40
Label| Impulse!
Producer| Bob Thiele
John Coltrane chronology
| Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane
(1963)  | Impressions
(1963)  | Stardust
(1963)

|
|

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [3]
Down Beat
(Original LP release)| [4]
Down Beat
(Reissue)| [5]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide| [6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [7]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings|  [8]

Impressions is an album of live and studio recordings by the jazz musician and composer John Coltrane. It was released through Impulse! Records in July 1963.[1][2]

## Music and recording

[edit]

Tracks 1 and 3 were recorded live at the Village Vanguard in November 1961,[9] during the same residency that produced the seminal "Live" at the Village Vanguard album, while tracks 2 and 4 were recorded at Van Gelder Studio, respectively on September 18, 1962[10] and April 29, 1963.[11] Track 5, "Dear Old Stockholm," also recorded on April 29, 1963, did not appear on the original release, but appears on later reissues.[11] The album was originally released in 1963 on the Impulse! label.[12]

The studio tracks were performed by the classic Coltrane quartet (pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones), who are joined by saxophonist Eric Dolphy and bassist Reggie Workman on the tracks recorded live at the Village Vanguard.[13] Dolphy contributes a long bass clarinet solo on "India", but lays out on all but the final chord of "Impressions".[14] Workman plays only on "India", joining Garrison in approximating the droning sound of Indian classical music.[13][15][16]

Drummer Roy Haynes replaces Elvin Jones on "After the Rain" and "Dear Old Stockholm".[11] The title track features nearly fifteen minutes of Coltrane's soloing.[17]

The music reflects Coltrane's evolving emotional and musical range, where he explores jazz modality, the music of India, the blues, and a traditional Swedish folk song.[16] The album includes performances across an eighteen-month period.[18]

## Reception

[edit]

DownBeat magazine critic Harvey Pekar summed up the album in his five-star review of August 29, 1963 writing: "Not all the music on this album is excellent (which is what a five-star rating signifies,) but some is more than excellent."[4]

## Influence on popular music

[edit]

According to Roger McGuinn, while touring in late 1965, the rock band the Byrds had only a single tape recording to listen to on the tour bus, with Ravi Shankar on one side and Coltrane's Impressions and Africa/Brass on the other: "We played that damn thing 50 or 100 times, through a Fender amplifier that was plugged into an alternator in the car."[19] The result was the recording of the single "Eight Miles High", acknowledged by the band as a direct homage to Coltrane, and to "India" on Impressions in particular.

In 2000 it was voted number 687 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[20]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks composed by John Coltrane except where noted.

Side 1No.| Title| Recording date and location| Length

|
|
|

1.| "India"| November 3 1961, Village Vanguard| 14:10
2.| "Up 'Gainst the Wall"| September 18 1962, Van Gelder Studio| 3:17

Side 2No.| Title| Recording date and location| Length

|
|
|

3.| "Impressions"| November 3 1961, Village Vanguard| 15:06
4.| "After the Rain"| April 29 1963, Van Gelder Studio| 4:07

CD reissue bonus trackNo.| Title| Recording date and location| Length

|
|
|

5.| "Dear Old Stockholm" (Stan Getz, Traditional)| April 29 1963, Van Gelder Studio| 10:38

## Personnel

[edit]

### Musicians

[edit]

* John Coltrane – soprano and tenor saxophone
* Eric Dolphy – bass clarinet (track 1), alto sax (track 3, final chord only)
* McCoy Tyner – piano (tracks 1, 3, 4, and 5)
* Jimmy Garrison – double bass
* Reggie Workman – double bass (track 1)
* Elvin Jones – drums (tracks 1, 2, and 3)
* Roy Haynes – drums (tracks 4 and 5)

### Production

[edit]

* Bob Thiele – production
* Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer
* Kevin Reeves – reissue mastering

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b DeVito, Chris; Fujioka, Yasuhiro; Schmaler, Wolf; Wild, David (2013). Porter, Lewis (ed.). The John Coltrane Reference. New York/Abingdon: Routledge. p. 623\. ISBN 9780415634632. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
2. ^ a b Editorial Staff, Cash Box (July 13, 1963). "Jazz Picks of the Week" (PDF). Cash Box. New York: The Cash Box Publishing Co. Inc. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
3. ^ Impressions at AllMusic
4. ^ a b Down Beat: August 29, 1963 Vol. 30, No.24
5. ^ Dec. 2000, p.94 – reissue
6. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 46\. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
7. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
8. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 287\. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
9. ^ Porter, Lewis; DeVito, Chris; Fujioka, Yasuhiro; Wild, David; Schmaler, Wolf (2008). The John Coltrane Reference. Routledge. pp. 622–623.
10. ^ Porter, Lewis; DeVito, Chris; Fujioka, Yasuhiro; Wild, David; Schmaler, Wolf (2008). The John Coltrane Reference. Routledge. p. 653.
11. ^ a b c Porter, Lewis; DeVito, Chris; Fujioka, Yasuhiro; Wild, David; Schmaler, Wolf (2008). The John Coltrane Reference. Routledge. pp. 681–682.
12. ^ "John Coltrane: Impressions: Releases". AllMusic. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
13. ^ a b "John Coltrane: Impressions". Jazz Disco. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
14. ^ Porter, Lewis; DeVito, Chris; Fujioka, Yasuhiro; Wild, David; Schmaler, Wolf (2008). The John Coltrane Reference. Routledge. p. 622.
15. ^ Ratliff, Ben (2007). Coltrane: The Story of a Sound. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 68.
16. ^ a b Impressions (liner notes). John Coltrane. Impulse!. 2000. 314 543 416-2.`{{cite AV media notes}}`: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
17. ^ Nisenson, Eric (2009). Ascension: John Coltrane And His Quest. Da Capo. p. 126.
18. ^ Yanow, Scott. "John Coltrane: Impressions". AllMusic. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
19. ^ Jim McGuinn quoted in Eight Miles High by Richie Unterberger
20. ^ Colin Larkin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 222\. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.

* v
* t
* e

John Coltrane

Discography

Prestige
albums|

* Mating Call (with Tadd Dameron)
* Tenor Conclave
* Coltrane
* Interplay
* Wheelin' & Dealin'
* John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio
* Soultrane
* Cattin' with Coltrane and Quinichette
* The Cats (with Tommy Flanagan and Kenny Burrell)
* Lush Life
* Settin' the Pace
* Standard Coltrane
* Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane
* Stardust
* Dakar
* The Believer
* Black Pearls
* Bahia
* The Last Trane
* Two Tenors

Blue Note
albums|

* Blue Train
* Coltrane Time

Atlantic
albums|

* Giant Steps
* Bags & Trane (with Milt Jackson)
* Coltrane Jazz
* My Favorite Things
* Olé Coltrane
* Coltrane Plays the Blues
* Coltrane's Sound
* The Avant-Garde

Impulse!
albums|

* Africa/Brass
* Coltrane
* Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
* Ballads
* Impressions
* John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
* Crescent
* A Love Supreme
* The John Coltrane Quartet Plays
* Ascension
* Meditations
* Kulu Sé Mama
* Expression
* Om
* Cosmic Music (with Alice Coltrane)
* Selflessness: Featuring My Favorite Things
* Transition
* Sun Ship
* Infinity
* Interstellar Space
* The Africa/Brass Sessions, Volume 2
* First Meditations
* Dear Old Stockholm
* Stellar Regions
* Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album
* Blue World

With
Miles Davis|

* Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet
* 'Round About Midnight
* Cookin'
* Relaxin'
* Milestones
* Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants
* Kind of Blue
* Jazz Track
* Workin'
* Steamin'
* Someday My Prince Will Come
* Miles & Monk at Newport
* Basic Miles
* At Newport 1958
* Jazz at the Plaza Vol. I
* 1958 Miles
* Miles Davis Quintet at Peacock Alley

With
Thelonious Monk|

* The Complete 1957 Riverside Recordings
* Thelonious Himself
* Monk's Music
* Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall
* Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane

Live albums|

* "Live" at the Village Vanguard
* Live at Birdland
* New Thing at Newport
* Live at the Village Vanguard Again!
* Live in Seattle
* Live in Japan
* Afro Blue Impressions
* The Paris Concert
* The European Tour
* Live Trane: The European Tours
* Bye Bye Blackbird
* Newport '63
* The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings
* The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording
* Live at the Half Note: One Down, One Up
* Offering: Live at Temple University
* A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle
* Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy

Compilations|

* Alternate Takes
* The Best of John Coltrane
* The Classic Quartet – Complete Impulse! Studio Recordings
* Coltrane for Lovers
* The Coltrane Legacy
* The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis with John Coltrane
* The Prestige Recordings
* Countdown: The Savoy Sessions
* Dial Africa: The Savoy Sessions
* Feelin' Good
* Gold Coast
* The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings
* High Step
* The Major Works of John Coltrane
* Jupiter Variation
* Ken Burns Jazz: John Coltrane
* The Last Giant: Anthology
* Living Space
* To the Beat of a Different Drum
* Trane's Blues
* Trane's Modes

Compositions|

* "26-2"
* "Alabama"
* "Blue Train"
* "Central Park West"
* "Countdown"
* "Equinox"
* "Giant Steps"
* "Impressions"
* "Lazy Bird"
* "Moment's Notice"
* "Mr. P.C."
* "Naima"
* "Ogunde"

Documentaries|

* The Church of Saint Coltrane
* The World According to John Coltrane
* Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary

Related|

* List of sessions
* Coltrane changes
* Sheets of sound
* Alice Coltrane (wife)
* Ravi Coltrane (son)
* Philadelphia house
* Dix Hills home
* 5893 Coltrane asteroid
* John W. Coltrane Cultural Society
* Tribute albums
* Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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