JOHN COLTRANE — Ascension (review)

JOHN COLTRANE — Ascension album cover Album · 1965 · Avant-Garde Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
SaltyJon
More than anything else, music for me is all about expression, the artist being able to present listeners with music for music's sake. More often than not, artists are bound by traditional structures, meter, melody, that kind of thing. Free jazz in general, and this recording specifically, really worked its way around those conventional restrictions and let the artist and the music do the talking.

This is an album which is full of life, full of spontaneity and (big surprise) a large amount of freedom on the part of the musicians. As the liner notes state, Marion Brown said that the sessions "had that kind of thing in them that makes people scream." For me, it's easy to see why, because the recordings seem to have some life of their own which is still a rare thing after all these years. Coltrane assembled a top notch lineup for this recording, with excellent performances from everyone involved. It's impossible for me to point out a particular high point as far as the soloing goes, because they all bring something unique to the table.

This album is not tame. It is not music you would want to play on a first date (or second, or third, basically it's not an album for lovers). It will almost definitely not reveal itself to you after only a few listens, but rather it will test your patience and resilience to the squonking and squealing which is often associated with free jazz. It's definitely not a great starting point for the genre either, but once you've gotten to know free jazz a bit then this one is an absolutely essential addition to your collection. The album is really something special, and based on my still expanding viewpoint of jazz, it's easily one of the masterpieces among masterpieces, one of the best of the best. No hesitation from me in giving this one five stars, it will blow your mind.

Note: as for the two versions which are on the CD I have, I can't say I really prefer one above the other. The first one presented (Version II) is Coltrane's preferred version of the work, but I'm just about equally pleased with both.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Sonic Creed Volume II : Life Signs World Fusion
STEFON HARRIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
My Ship Hard Bop
WILLIE JONES III
Buy this album from MMA partners
Ice Breaking Post-Fusion Contemporary
DAG ARNESEN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin : Brasil Latin Jazz
LEE RITENOUR
Buy this album from MMA partners
From The North - Gogo Penguin Live In Manchester Nu Jazz
GOGO PENGUIN
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

GoGo Penguin - From the North - GoGo Penguin Live in Manchester
GOGO PENGUIN
js· 2 hours ago
03 Willie Jones III My Ship #NightIsAlive
WILLIE JONES III
snobb· 22 hours ago
Fall
SUNNY KIM
js· 1 day ago
Twilight
RANDY SCOTT
js· 2 days ago
Trifecta - Beck and Call - official video (taken from The New Normal)
TRIFECTA
js· 3 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed