Ascension

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

Ascension was recorded without rehearsal on 28 June 1965 at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs and was released in February 1966 on Impulse!. John Coltrane was then one of the most successful jazz musicians in the world, just after A Love Supreme. He expanded his quartet with younger players from the avant-garde, including Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp and Freddie Hubbard. Coltrane handed out lead sheets at the start, and much was devised on the spot. The group recorded two versions of roughly equal length: Edition I and Edition II.

The piece lasts about forty minutes without a break. Collective improvisations alternate with solos. The sound is dense and turbulent: seven horn players play at once and the lines merge into a field of sound. The album is regarded as a watershed in Coltrane's work. What came before was more conventional, what came after was looser and closer to free jazz. AllMusic called it the recording that placed him firmly in the avant-garde.

Listening

Track list

1. 1Ascension, Edition I, Pt. 119:00Apple Music ↗
2. 2Ascension, Edition I, Pt. 219:42Apple Music ↗
3. 3Ascension, Edition II, Pt. 118:57Apple Music ↗
4. 4Ascension, Edition II, Pt. 221:38Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗