House That Trane Built: Story of Impulse Records (2006) (Remastered)

Artist: Various Artists
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Product Summary
Label: Impulse Records
UPC: 00602498562833
Release Date: 6/6/2006
Buy.com Sku: 202545924
Item#: M2XUNR
Format:  CD

Song Listing

Disc 1
Song TitleSample
1. Honeysuckle Rose - Gil Evans ~ Various Artists
2. Trey Of Hearts - Oliver Nelson ~ Various Artists
3. Samba Para Bean - John Coltrane ~ Various Artists
4. Too Young To Go Steady - Art Blakey ~ Various Artists
5. Snap Crackle - Benny Carter ~ Various Artists
6. Chocolate Shake - Count Basie ~ Various Artists
7. Impressions - John Coltrane ~ Various Artists
8. Theme For Lester Young - Charles Mingus ~ Various Artists
Disc 2
Song TitleSample
1. My One & Only Love - Johnny Hartman/John Coltrane ~ Various Artists
2. Salt & Pepper - Paul Gonsalves/Sonny Stitt ~ Various Artists
3. Forest Flower - Sunrise/Sunset - Chico Hamilton ~ Various Artists
4. T 'N' A Blues - McCoy Tyner ~ Various Artists
5. Someone To Watch Over Me - Ben Webster ~ Various Artists
6. Sister Mamie - Yusef Lateef ~ Various Artists
7. Love Supreme: Part 1 - Acknowledgement, A - John Coltrane ~ Various Artists
8. Rapid Shave - Shirley Scott ~ Various Artists
9. Los Olvidados - Archie Shepp ~ Various Artists
10. Ask Me Now! - Pee Wee Russell ~ Various Artists
Disc 3
Song TitleSample
1. Black & Tan Fantasy - Earl Hines ~ Various Artists
2. Alfie's Theme - Sonny Rollins ~ Various Artists
3. Spanish Rice - Clark Terry/Chico O'Farrill ~ Various Artists
4. Mama Too Tight - Archie Shepp ~ Various Artists
5. Gypsy Queen - Gabor Szabo ~ Various Artists
6. Larry Of Arabia - Chico Hamilton ~ Various Artists
7. Our Prayer - Albert Ayler ~ Various Artists
8. Offering - John Coltrane ~ Various Artists
9. Journey In Satchidananda - Alice Coltrane ~ Various Artists
10. War Orphans - Charlie Haden ~ Various Artists
Disc 4
Song TitleSample
1. Stolen Moments - Ahmad Jamal ~ Various Artists
2. Creator Has A Master Plan, The - Pharoah Sanders ~ Various Artists
3. India - Gato Barbieri ~ Various Artists
4. Rich, The (And The Poor) - Keith Jarrett ~ Various Artists
5. Hard Work - John Handy ~ Various Artists
6. Walk With Me - Alice Coltrane ~ Various Artists

(P) 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
(C) 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.

From the Publisher:
The legendary Impulse record label marks its 45th anniversary with the publication of the book The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records by Ashley Kahn; the release of 12 Best-Of Impulse CDs (including a 4-CD companion collection to the book); the national broadcast of the radio program The House That Trane Built (based on the book); and the kickoff of an international tour by the all-star group, McCoy Tyner Septet - An Impulse Tribute.

As an overwhelming majority of jazz fans already know, the most exciting jazz of the 1960s and '70s wore orange and black, the colors made famous by Impulse Records. In its heyday, Impulse was the legendary label that forged an identity with its signature adventurous sound, eye-catching design and music that ranged from swing to the avant-garde. Impulse recordings by John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner, Keith Jarrett and Archie Shepp were part of the spiritual soundtrack of the time. Add timeless titles by Count Basie, Art Blakey, Duke Ellington, Johnny Hartman, Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges -- and a tribute to this wide and enduring body of work is overdue.

The singular relationship that developed between John Coltrane and Impulse Records gives this multi-pronged project its title - The House That Trane Built. "One can plan to bring all these efforts into one well-timed wave but it doesn't necessarily just happen," says Ashley Kahn who coordinated the celebration. "In this case it did, with the result being that more will know about this great record label and its lasting impact on American culture, and also hear the timeless music that Impulse Records produced."

The 4-CD collection The House That Trane Built -- companion to the book - features 38 label-defining tracks from the Impulse vaults, from Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments" to John Coltrane's "Acknowledgment"(from A Love Supreme) to Pharoah Sanders's "The Creator Has a Master Plan".
 

Album Notes and Credits

Notes & Personnel Info
Given that these tracks were taken from the four-disc box set House That Trane Built: Best of Impulse Records to accompany Ashley Kahn's excellent book of the same name, it is difficult to place this music in context given its diversity (a goal from the jump at Impulse). It does give an overview of the avant-garde side of the label with tracks by John and Alice Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and Albert Ayler. It is balanced with cuts by Art Blakey and Earl Hines, Oliver Nelson, John Handy, and Charles Mingus. The sequencing is troublesome and problematic: placing Hines' read of Duke Ellington's "Black and Tan Fantasy" after Albert Ayler's "Our Prayer" is just plain strange, as is John Handy's funky "Hard Work" after Alice's "Journey in Satchidananda" (and these are the last four cuts on the disc).The most beautiful transition here is from Mingus' "Theme for Lester Young (Goodbye Pork Pie Hat)" to the first section of John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." Given its length of only 61 minutes, it is truly puzzling that more music wasn't added to shed further light on Impulse's range. There's nothing here by Gil Evans, Chico Hamilton, Gabor Szabo, Gary McFarland, Tom Scott, Pharoah Sanders, or Ben Webster, and the reason, on the surface at least, is inexplicable. This is the only truly shoddy volume in the set. ~ Thom Jurek
The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records is a four-disc set, compiled and annotated by author Ashley Kahn who wrote the book of the same name being published concurrently with its release. Impulse's great run was between 1961 and 1976 -- a period of 15 years that ushered in more changes in jazz than at any other point in the music's history. Impulse began recording in the last weeks of 1960, with Ray Charles, Kai Windig /J.J. Johnson, and Gil Evans. While Impulse experimented with 45s 33 1/3 EPs, cassettes, and reel to reel tapes later in its existence, it was--and this set focuses on-- it was the music on its LPs (with distinct orange and black packaging in gatefold sleeves containing copious notes) that helped to set them apart. Impulse was dedicated to ushering in the new and controversial, but also sought to showcase established artists from the tradition (maintaining the jazz lineage) who continued to work and develop. While the label is certainly associated more closely with John Coltrane than any other of its artists (Coltrane also acted as an ad hoc A&R man), it nonetheless established and forwarded the careers of dozens of jazzers.
The discs are arranged chronologically. Disc one begins with Gil Evans and his reading of "Where Flamingos Fly" from Out of the Cool, issued in 1961. Other big-band moments on this disc include Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments" from Blues and the Abstract Truth, and Coltrane's reading of "Greensleeves" from his Africa Brass issue. These three albums alone present very different large band approaches to jazz, and the number of established and up-and-coming names who played on them is staggering: Budd Johnson, Ron Carter, Elvin Jones, Charlie Persip, Eric Dolphy, Bill Evans, Roy Haynes, Freddie Hubbard, Paul Chambers, Julius Watkins, Julian Priester, Booker Little, McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman, and more. Bob Thiele, the label's house producer and A&R man, is equally responsible. He was a visionary, open to any and all changes in the music; also in his favor was a healthy ambivalence toward the music business itself. Other headline acts in those early years included Art Blakey, Ben Webster, Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie, Johnny Hartman, and Charles Mingus, just to name a few. The first two discs highlight these tracks, along with music by Chico Hamilton, Freddie Hubbard, Paul Gonsalves, Haynes, and Yusef Lateef very well. Disc two moves through the issue of Coltrane's A Love Supreme--the label's defining moment-- and one of its early vanguard signings in Archie Shepp. Shirley Scott and Pee Wee Russell are also represented with tracks from 1963 and 1964. But here is also where the problems begin for those who wish to quibble (we all have our wishes for what should have made the cut). Sun Ra is nowhere in sight. His Space Is The Placeis a crowning moment for him--it should be stated, that this album is a reissue of material that originally appeared on his own El Saturn label in various forms, but its best, and most complete presentation was on Impulse. Likewise, Cecil Taylor, Max Roach, and Quincy Jones are not represented here.
Organizationally, the presentation is wonderful but difficult too--and to be fair, who wouldn't run into problems trying to assemble something definitive like this--is that while the box includes four discs, there are ten single-disc overviews of the label's major artists. And most of them have multiple cuts on the box, creating a great deal of repetition. Coltrane would be the noteworthy exception to this, but it's difficult to reason why anyone else should have multiple selections in this collection If they hadn't, obviously, there would have been room for other artists that recorded for the label as well. (Realistically, one can almost bet that budgetary and licensing issues prevailed). Discs three and four focus deeply on the new and vanguard jazz with offerings by Trane, Alice Coltrane, Shepp, Albert Ayler, Chico O'Farrill, Charlie Haden, Keith Jarrett, Gato Barbieri, and Pharoah Sanders -- represented here by his 32-minute classic "The Creator Has a Master Plan"that also appears on his signature volume. While it can successfully be argued that Sanders' selection could have been chosen differently to make room for other Impulse artists, the fact that Kahn picked the one tune most closely associated with him is commendable. There is great balance on the latter two discs, with cuts from albums by Ahmad Jamal, John Handy, Gabor Szabo, Sonny Rollins, and Clark Terry showcased in the mix. Still, one wonders how Ornette Coleman, Milt Jackson, Dizzy Gillespie, Tom Scott, Mal Waldron, and Gary McFarland could not be included? That list of personal quibbles and questions goes on and on. But the hardest thing for a fan to bear is not having a single track by Sam Rivers, Dewey Redman, or Marion Brown included. All three men did most important work as leaders for the label. (Arguably, Rivers should have had his own volume in the signature series as well.) Again, admittedly, it was a tough call making cuts in a roster as varied and important as Impulse's was. Including tracks by a number of lesser-known acts who have never had material issued on CD would have been a nice touch as well, like the Brotherhood, Clifford Coulter, Sonny Criss, or the American Quartet. Some of these, of course, are quibbles, others are puzzling, while still a few others seem inexcusable. But there are only four discs here. Hopefully Mr. Khan and Verve might agree in the future that a second, multi-volume box should be released. All of that said, the inclusion of Walk With Me from Alice Coltrane's magnificent comeback, Translinear Light is here. The track was released in 2004 on Impulse. It appears that Verve does indeed reserve the right to release music on the label that fits the post-John Coltrane aesthetic. The House That Trane Built is a solid overview of a label that was simply mystifying in tis vision and spot-on in its choices for documenting the many changes in jazz history. Kahn's project--both the music and his fine book, are worthwhile for any jazz listener to investigate. ~ Thom Jurek

 
Technical Info
Release Date : 06/06/2006
Original Release Date : 2006
Catalog ID : 0006680
Label : Impulse!
Number of Discs : 4
Studio/Live : Studio
Mono/Stereo : Stereo
SPAR Code : n/a
UPC : 00602498562833

  
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