About

Ascension, released in 1966 on Impulse! Records, stands as one of John Coltrane’s most radical and influential works. Subtitled “Edition I & II” to reflect the two complete takes recorded at the session—and presented together on LP for the first time—the piece is a nearly 40-minute large-ensemble performance marking Coltrane’s decisive embrace of the avant-garde. Recorded on June 28, 1965, at Rudy Van Gelder’s Englewood Cliffs studio and produced by Bob Thiele, the session assembled an expanded ensemble of eleven musicians. Alongside Coltrane’s tenor saxophone are 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 densely textured collective improvisation and extended solo statements, conjuring a hurricane of violent, searching sound. Initially controversial for its intensity and freedom, Ascension has since come to be recognized as a landmark of modern jazz and a defining statement of the emerging free-jazz movement. Presenting both takes together highlights the organic, ever-changing character of the performance and affirms its enduring place in Coltrane’s artistic legacy. — (via Label)

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Ascension remains Coltrane’s most controversial work, even though there are more difficult pieces in his canon, like Interstellar Space. Listening to it today, the album doesn’t sound quite so dauntingly apocalyptic as it must have sounded to listeners on its release in 1966. Perhaps because it inspired and influenced other musicians who followed in Coltrane’s wake, 21st-century ears have become more attuned to its otherworldly language. Even so, immersing yourself in it can feel like the onset of an out-of-body experience, taking you on a journey to a higher state of being. Whereas A Love Supreme was Coltrane’s intimate, personal communion with the divine creator, Ascension is a mind-blowing sonic journey into transcendental space, as if Coltrane was attempting astral projection. 60 years on, love it or loathe it, it’s still one helluva ride. — (via Record Collector)

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— 2LP pressed on 180g black vinyl
— Housed in matte gatefold sleeve
— Mastered from analog tapes

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Label: Impulse! / Verve / UMe
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Compilation, Reissue, Remastered
Reissued: 2026 / Originally Released: 1966
Genre: Jazz
Style: Free Jazz, Post Bop, Free Improvisation

File under: Jazz - John Coltrane
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