Album of the day (#4527): Ascension by John Coltrane

[albummaster]

Today's album of the day

Ascension by John Coltrane (View album | Buy this album)

Year: 1966.
Country:
Overall rank: 1,054
Average rating: 77/100 (from 309 votes).

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Tracks:
1. Ascension, Pt. 1
2. Ascension, Pt. 2

About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the day is the album appearing most prominently in member charts in the previous 24 hours. If an album, or artist, has previously been selected within a x day period, the next highest album is picked instead (and so on) to ensure a bit of variety. A full history of album of the day can be viewed here.

[Fischman]

From my diary:

The first time I heard this, nobody had warned me, let alone prepared me for the seemingly random array of cacophonous sounds that would emanate from this supposedly supremely talented ensemble. Did I just wander into the first day of a grammar school music class where ten year olds were blowing into instruments for the first time, reveling in the sounds they can make individually? Is this some extended version of an orchestra warming up and attempting to tune all at the same time?

In his Sputnik Music Review, Tristan Jones says "... fans of this piece of music can be organized into two categories: those who claim to understand it, and those who admit they can't."

Okay... I feel better now.

This is where free jazz goes really, really free. Coltrane was also abandoning the typical quartet and loaded up this ensemble oddly, with three tenors, two altos, two trumpets, Two basses, piano and drums. What a swarm they are! Rhythm? Nope. Swing? Surely you jest! Unconventional and improvised with no regard for tradition? You bet!

After a few listens, it may still sound random and unstructured, but it becomes apparent this isn't just a bunch of kids wanking their newfound instruments for the first time. We know going in, that each member is highly skilled, and a few listens will lend the idea that they're doing exactly what their doing, albeit not scripted and going with whatever strikes them at the moment. In this most recent listen, I wanted to see if I could detect the element that makes other free jazz I've heard and liked, interesting and likable; that being a sense that the musicians are playing off of, or conversing with each other. Yes, I definitely hear that in Ascension... most of the time. There are still moments that sound like individual free for alls.... and who knows, maybe that was the intent and part of what we're supposed to get out of this. Huge kudos to drummer Elvin Jones for providing some kind of a foundation for this only marginally contained lunacy. And God love Freddie Hubbard for occasionally forcing his clear, sharp tone into the middle of the proceedings, providing a respite from all the goose honking sounds of five simultaneous saxes flying free!

Ascension is presented as a single, uninterrupted piece. Interestingly, Ascension was recorded twice with one "edition" released, then pulled and another edition released shortly thereafter. The "why" of this seems to be lost. Now a multi-disc set can get you both editions together. They start off similarly, but as you can imagine, while wandering in a similar direction, that much freedom will result in significant differences, although the overall sound and impact remain much the same. Running time of the two editions is within a couple minutes of each other, sitting just on opposite sides of the 40 minute mark.

In the end, I'm still not likely to proclaim this as some supreme example of jazz, or music of any kind, but I'm also not going to disparage it either. Free Jazz tends to divide as wide as current American politics, but just as in the latter, I am perfectly comfortable proclaiming some middle ground here. I'm not suddenly going to side with the self-appointed musical elites who like to set themselves apart by saying only they get this and the rest of us don't. Nor will I simply dismiss this as nonsense, claiming it to be the unlistenable ramblings of so-called musicians too full of themselves. It is not something I listen to often, but it is something I will listen to regularly. My personal purpose in doing so is to try to get "inside" the mind of the ensemble and hear the art in their conversation. It is there much of the time, even if it is not apparent; even brutally difficult to try to find. But finding it is indeed rewarding, if only for a brief moment before the frenzied melee returns!

There are moments where it all starts to make sense (especially when pianist McCoy Tyner asserts himself).