The Impulse! label - best known for its quality and innovative jazz albums of the '60s and '70s - has been emphatically relaunched after 21 years. The first releases from the rejuvenated label are reissues of three of John Coltrane's recordings - A Love Supreme, Ballads and John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. The recordings have all been digitally remastered and are available on CD and on limited-edition vinyl. The CDs are beautifully packaged with some excellent photos, all the original sleeve notes, and the distinctive Impulse! black-orange-and-white colours.
The legendary saxophonist John Coltrane recorded on the Impulse! label for many years - as did many of his friends and proteges. These three recordings provide a good introduction to Coltrane's jazz; both Ballads and ...and Johnny Hartman being gentle, almost soothing, jazz - Hartman's smooth crooning flowing with McCoy Tyner's piano, Jimmy Garrison's bass and Elvin Jones' drums.
A Love Supreme is a classic example of Coltrane's other, better remembered side - the jazzman reaching out, musically and spiritually, to somewhere no one else has been.
For a gentle introduction to Coltrane, start with Ballads, listen to ... and Johnny Hartman, move on to A Love Supreme. And then go out and hunt down some more...
