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Impressions
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0731454341622
Format: Original recording remastered
Label: Polygram Records
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
MPN: 543416
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Polygram Records
Release Date: June 06, 2000
Studio: Polygram Records
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Editorial Review:
One of John Coltrane's great LPs of the early '60s, Impressions might seem like a hodgepodge, with tracks from three different sessions in three different years. The two long tracks--"Impressions" and "India"--come from Coltrane's November 1961 stand at the Village Vanguard, and together they represent the poles of Coltrane's conception at the time. "Impressions," a personal variant of "So What" that Coltrane had long explored as a member of the Miles Davis quintet, is an uptempo tenor onslaught, a blistering, sustained exploration in which Coltrane and drummer Elvin Jones established new parameters for intensity and sheer physicality. "India," a variant on the earlier "Mr. Knight," has Coltrane's soprano and Eric Dolphy's bass clarinet keening over two pulsing basses, piano, and drums, pressing jazz toward hypnotic depths. Balancing those extraordinary live performances are more compact studio recordings. "Up 'Gainst the Wall," from 1962, is a tautly convoluted blues without piano. "After the Rain," a gorgeous original ballad, and "Dear Old Stockholm" come from a 1963 session when drummer Roy Haynes had temporarily replaced Elvin Jones. The material is also available on the definitive box sets, Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings and Classic Quartet--Complete Impulse! Studio Recordings, but for listeners not ready for those investments, this is a superb portrait of a multifaceted artist. --Stuart Broomer
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Unfairly overlooked
This is one of Coltrane's several unfairly overlooked albums. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this album is that each song evokes a totally different emotion, from the harsh, near-atonal "India" to the more playful "Up 'Gainst the Wall" to the furious title track to the hymnal "After the Rain". I'll confess that "India" (which, like the title track, was recorded at the Village Vanguard) isn't much of a song outside of Eric Dolphy's bass clarinet, but other than that, this is a near-flawless ... Read More
Rating:  - Don't count this out
This album is the second most underrated album in John Coltrane's discography. 5 songs from three different sessions and in three different years,the best songs are India and after the rain. Two of the songs are from the famous 1961 Village Vanguard concert. Coltrane wrote all the compositions except Dear Old Stockholm. Do not count this album out!
Rating: - Coltrane in transition.. again
Ok, I know.. it's redundant to use that phrase to describe someone who was more of a chameleon than Madonna and David Bowie combined. Impressions isn't remarkable simply for being a snapshot of two different phases in John Coltrane's career. What makes it special - to me at least - is how *much* of his range it covers in a mere five tracks. I'm not exactly an expert and there's a lot of the JC catalogue I don't know, but I haven't found another album that crosses so much ground within one package. Yet. ... Read More
Rating: - A special album but not for the casual fan
This is serious music, not for the casual jazz fan. But for Baby Boomers like myself who witnessed the birth of the free jazz movement back in the 1960s, this was a seminal transitional album that opened ears and minds to new post-bop and post-cool jazz possibilities. The highlights of this album are two long and intense live jams that cemented Coltrane's reputation as the most important sax player of his generation.
"India" features Coltrane on soprano sax, an instrument he single-handedly ... Read More
Rating: - One album that leaves an impression...
A year after I had a major spiritual epiphany while listening to this album, I discovered that by the time St. John Coltrane recorded Impressions, he had made a vow to God that he would strive to create music that would inspire that very thing. The album opens with "India", a conversation between Trane and Mingus band alumnus Eric Dolphy, over a spacious and spare groove in spite of the addition of a second bass to simulate a talking drum. At times Dolphy's bass clarinet's timbre beautifully resembles ... Read More
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