Ascension

Ascension is a jazz album by John Coltrane recorded in June 1965 and released in 1966. It is considered a watershed in Coltrane's work, with the albums recorded before it being more conventional in structure and the albums recorded after it being looser, free jazz inspired works. In addition, it signaled Coltrane's interest in moving away from the quartet format. AllMusic called it "the single recording that placed John Coltrane firmly into the avant-garde". Background At the time of the Ascension recording session, Coltrane was one of the world's most successful jazz artists in both the artistic and commercial sense. His best-selling album A Love Supreme was nominated for a Grammy Award, and was voted "album of the year" by both DownBeat and Jazz magazines. In addition, Coltrane was elected to DownBeat's Hall of Fame, putting him in the company of Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. At the same time, in the months since A Love Supreme was recorded, Coltrane's music had become increasingly turbulent, moving further in the direction of free jazz. Coltrane had befriended saxophonist Albert Ayler, and was heavily influenced by his music; meanwhile, he had also become somewhat of a father figure for a number of younger avant-garde players, some of whom would appear on Ascension. According to writer Bernard Gendron, "At the height of his career, riding on the momentum of the critical and popular triumph of A Love Supreme, Coltrane was the modern jazz star of the 1960s, with a large following of serious jazz fans and great respect from his musician peers. He was in an ideal position to bring into the orbit of the avant-garde fans and musicians who had previously hesitated, been puzzled or mildly hostile." Additional musicians The musicians that Coltrane chose to supplement the members of the classic quartet were a mix of players ranging from established to relatively unknown, all of whom were younger than Coltrane, and many of whom had played with Coltrane in the years preceding the recording of Ascension. Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and bassist Art Davis were well-known and well-recorded by that point, and both had recorded with Coltrane on Africa/Brass and Olé Coltrane. (Davis also appeared on The John Coltrane Quartet Plays, recorded earlier in 1965.) Saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded his first Impulse! album, Four for Trane, in 1964 after Coltrane recommended him to producer Bob Thiele, and went on to release over a dozen albums on the label.