Climbing Up The Ladder

Just past the midway point in 1965, John Coltrane was definitely making a case for himself as one of jazz's premier musicians, period. But on the week just prior to the 4th of July, Trane would create a great deal of genuine controversy when he & 10 other musicians flocked to Rudy Van Gelder's recording studio in New Jersey to create one of his most ambitious & challenging sessions to date, Ascension. Along with his regular rhythm section, he added mostly raw, untried talent into the musical equation but the immense number of musicians should not detract one from the galvanizing force & power which Trane's compositions, even prior to this point, offered in droves. Think of this album as one 40-minute jam session gone wild!!

Sheer power: I couldn't describe this music any better way. Or should I say an intense musical maelstrom? I dunno. But those phrases are the ones which I could best describe Ascension as being: purely controversial music which isn't for the faint of heart. And yet it's so beautiful, one chapter of an ongoing spiritual journey which Trane was taking through his music.

Of course, it's purely controversial stuff. Some dismissed it as complete, inaccessible noise; others thought it was too "out there," too incoherent or chaotic for the uninitiated listener; yet others sang praises, feeling Coltrane reached new heights which to this day remain unreachable through Ascension. At any rate, this is furious, aggressive music which takes multiple listens to wholeheartedly appreciate or write off as sheer cacophony as some critics have done. (And BTW, those same critics missed the point of what Ascension is all about.)

Doing two versions of this composition of course posed problems for Trane when it came down to which version he wanted to release (back in the day when LP formats ruled): with two editions out simultaneously, it seemed that he at least found some closure to that dilemma. (The CD includes both editions, thank heavens.) Haggling aside, on June 28, 1965, Coltrane scaled a Mount Everest from which (for him) there could be no returning. And even though a few more recordings were done with the Classic Quartet, the accelerated pace at which his music was changing proved to be more than his CQ bandmates could bear. Ascension, in a sense, is the meridian line where Coltrane said, "Love me or hate me; I am taking my music places I want it to go so there." And did he ever take his music to unchartered territory; this is controlled mayhem at its finest & a great way to begin his later, much freer musical excursions.