Impulse Vinyl & CDs

Review: Blue World is an album that was never intended for release. It features music commissioned for a soundtrack for a Canadian film in 1964 and showcases a quartet that was at its very best. It's made up of short tracks and alternate takes of early Coltrane material and is utterly vibrant. Catchy little ditties like "Village Blues", stripped down numbers like the title track and the mostly-improvised "Traneing In" are all testament to the enduring brilliance of Coltrane, no matter the setting in which he was playing. The clarity of the recording and richness of the bass playing also add to the overall beauty of this record.

Review: Of all his many albums and live shows, A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle is often said by fans to be one Coltrane's greatest works. Until recently, this was a long lost performance from the iconic saxophonist. Recorded in 1964, it is only the second full live performance recording known after one from the Festival Mondial du Jazz Antibes in France from 1965. The quartet for the original recording of one was made up of McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones next to Coltrane himself, but this recording was boosted by Pharoah Sanders on tenor sax and Donald Garrett on second bass. It's a suite packed with spirit, power and soul.

Review: Given that he was the Impulse label's most significant star during its formative years, it seems fitting that a newly discovered live recording of John Coltrane should form part of the acclaimed jazz imprint's 60th anniversary celebrations. What we get is a genuine piece of jazz history: an expanded, wonderfully free-wheeling and hugely atmospheric performance of Coltrane's landmark A Love Supreme suite, recorded live at The Penthouse in Seattle on October 2nd, 1965. Coltrane is of course in prime form, as are his regular accompanying players. Significantly, these included Pharoah Sanders, who on that now famous night in Seattle was making his first official appearance as part of Coltrane's group.

Review: In August 1961, John Coltrane and his legendary Quintet, joined by visionary multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy, played the revered Village Gate in Greenwich Village, New York, not, at that time, as established as it would soon become. This special new double album features over an hour and a half of music that has never before been heard, including well-known Coltrane classics such as 'My Favorite Things' and 'Greensleeves' as well as the only known non-studio recording of Coltrane's 'Africa' from his Africa/Bass album. The record then marks a historic moment in Coltrane's career.

Review: With their penchant for off-kilter psychedelic explorations, deep-rooted spiritual jazz excursions and cacophonous, otherworldly workouts, The Comet Is Coming is undoubtedly one of the most groundbreaking and essential jazz combos of recent times. It's for this reason that "Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery" - their first outing on legendary jazz label Impulse - feels like an event release. It is another stunning album, with the inspired trio flitting between sweaty, dancefloor-ready tracks soaked in psychedelic electronics and more melodious, laidback numbers that sail closer to traditional jazz pastures. Throughout, the level of imagination, creativity and uniqueness remains dizzyingly high.

Review: Yusef Lateef's brand of jazz is surely some of the easiest to love. That's not to say it's simplistic in any way, but rather than his affinity for groove and melody is just an instant pleasure - a smouldering mood which takes you somewhere far and fantastic without the need to raise the pulse. 1965 LP Psychicemotus is another masterpiece from a man whose career is nothing but masterpieces, leading in with the winding wonder of the title track led by Late's signature flute and backed up by Georges Arvanitas on piano, Reggie Workman on bass and James Black on drums. Whether you're a completist filling a gap or a jazz-curious bystander, this album will never let you down.

Review: It's 52 years since Thelonius Monk played the show at a California high school which makes up this new long player on Impulse. It happened after a 16 year old student at the school held a concert to raise some money for its International Club, and some how managed to persuade Thelonious Monk's manager that his charge should be the headliner. Monk obliged and turned up with his quartet, and in this recording you can hear every single detail from the creaks of the piano bench to Ben Riley's swishing hi-hats on 'Ruby, My Dear.' The backstory alone makes this one an essential purchase, while of course the music itself isn't too shabby, either.

Review: A saxophonist at the pinnacle of his game, Shabaka Hutchings presents 'Afrikan Culture, on which he explores the rich musical traditions of the African continent and combines them with contemporary, self-affirming themes. Remarkably for how well-touted his name is, this is Hutchings' first ever solo LP, bringing it to the masses under the name Shabaka (following on the smash success of Sons Of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming). It's a stunning, existential album which not only pays tribute to the Afrofuturist greats who precede him, but which, of course, looks squarely into the eyes of Afroftuture that will come after him.

Review: Given the quality of Sons of Kemet's previous albums, hopes are naturally sky-high for the Shabaka Hutchings'-helmed quartet's first full-length excursion since 2018's Mercury Music Prize-nominated Your Queen is a Reptile. Happily, we can confirm that Black to the Future delivers - and then some. The band's most politically charged release to date, it's as energetic, intense, righteous and angry as you'd expect, offering a take on jazz that's expressive, percussively heavy and full of primal, guttural saxophone squeals courtesy of Hutchings. Throw in superb contributions from some fittingly impressive guest stars - grime MC Double E, Moor Mother and jazz poet Angel Bat Dawid all feature - and it all adds up to the most impressive Sons of Kemet album yet - and that's saying something.

Review: Music Message & The Moment has been put together to celebrate 60 years of Impulse Records. All the big hitters like John Coltrane, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, Oliver Nelson, Pharaoh Sanders, Archie Shepp and a host of other legendary jazz cats all feature. Each of them contributed to Impulse's reputation as the leading, political stand-taking label of the 60s. Togeterh they add up to a strong statement of black power, and musically the compilation take sin a wide embrace of styles and sounds. The stunning four LP box set is housed in a high-quality archival portfolio cast with a museum drop front, and it also comes with a booklet and unique slipmat, so is a real piece of collector's gold.