[PREORDER] John Coltrane - Ascension: Edition I & II (Verve Vault Series)
*180 Gram 2LP / Verve Vault Series*
Released on Impulse! in 1966, Ascension is one of John Coltrane's most radical and influential records — a single, nearly forty-minute composition for an eleven-piece ensemble that marked his decisive turn toward the avant-garde. The Verve Vault Series presents both complete takes from the session, Edition I and Edition II, together on 2LP for the first time, mastered from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Optimal.
Recorded on June 28, 1965 at Rudy Van Gelder's Englewood Cliffs studio and produced by Bob Thiele, the session brought together a generation of musicians who would shape free jazz for the next decade: Coltrane on tenor saxophone, with trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Dewey Johnson; saxophonists Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown, John Tchicai, and Archie Shepp; pianist McCoy Tyner; bassists Art Davis and Jimmy Garrison; and drummer Elvin Jones. The music alternates between massed collective improvisation and extended solo statements; presenting both takes side-by-side foregrounds how differently the ensemble built the piece in each pass.
Tracklist
Edition I — Side A
- Ascension (Part 1)
Edition I — Side B
- Ascension (Part 2)
Edition II — Side C
- Ascension (Part 1)
Edition II — Side D
- Ascension (Part 2)