Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positive critiques of his recordings, the label came to be known as "the house that Trane built".
27-1372: Jazz ensemble The Bob Thiele Collective was an "all-star" American jazz ensemble which recorded three albums for Bob Thiele 's record label Red Baron . Thiele assembled and produced the three different groups. Discography [ edit ] 1990: Sunrise Sunset ( David Murray , John Hicks , Cecil McBee , Andrew Cyrille ) 1991: Louis Satchmo ( Joshua Redman , Red Rodney , Kenny Barron , Santi Debriano , Grady Tate ) 1993: Lion Hearted ( Gary Bartz , Ravi Coltrane , Steve Marcus , Ray Anderson , Ray Drummond , Roy Hargrove , Kenny Barron, Grady Tate) References [ edit ] ^ Chicago Tribune Sunrise Sunset review ^ AllMusic Sunrise Sunset ^ AllMusic Louis Satchmo ^ AllMusic Lion Hearted Authority control databases [REDACTED] International VIAF National United States Artists MusicBrainz Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bob_Thiele_Collective&oldid=1245087810 " Category : American jazz ensembles Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Bob Thiele Robert " Bob " Thiele (July 27, 1922 – January 30, 1996)
54-460: A Wonderful World ", was co-written with George David Weiss and recorded by Louis Armstrong . According to Thiele's memoir, the recording session for the song was the scene of a major clash with ABC Records president Larry Newton , who had to be locked out of the studio after getting into a heated argument with Thiele over the song. "What a Wonderful World" was credited to George Douglas or Stanley Clayton. They are pseudonyms Thiele used, made from
81-455: A ballad rather than a ' Dixieland '-style number like his earlier hit " Hello Dolly ". According to Thiele's own account, this led to a screaming match; Newton then had to be locked out of the studio and he stood outside throughout the session, banging on the door and yelling to be let in. The single was released with little promotion from ABC and it sold relatively poorly in the U.S.. In Europe, it sold more than 1.5 million copies and went to #1 in
108-593: A cross-media force in television, theaters and sound recordings". It enjoyed early success in TV with The Mickey Mouse Club , a joint venture with Disney . To market music from the successful TV show, ABC-Paramount established the Am-Par Record Corporation and the ABC-Paramount label in early 1955, appointing Sam Clark, a Boston record distributor, as president, with Larry Newton as sales manager and Harry Levine
135-547: A friend, at Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan on January 30, 1996. Impulse! Records Impulse!'s parent company, ABC-Paramount Records , was established in 1955 as the recording division of the American Broadcasting Company ( ABC ). In the 1940s and 1950s, ABC benefitted from the U.S. government's antitrust actions against broadcasters and film studios who were forced to divest parts of their companies. In
162-621: The Bob Thiele Collective , and previously unissued recordings by Duke Ellington and Earl Hines , as well as reissues from other labels. In 1995, his memoir, What a Wonderful World , was published. Red Baron was wound up after Thiele died. Thiele remained active in the music business until the end of his life, including the co-writing of the song "You," which was recorded by Bonnie Raitt and appeared on her 1994 album, Longing in Their Hearts . He died of kidney failure, according to
189-475: The A&R director. The new recording company enjoyed Goldenson's full support. Sid Feller, a producer and arranger, was the first salaried employee on July 15, 1955. The label achieved early success in pop music with Paul Anka . In 1960, Am-Par established a jazz subsidiary and hired Creed Taylor , a producer and arranger who had worked with Bethlehem Records . Taylor became producer and A&R manager. He chose
216-559: The Cool by Gil Evans . Taylor also signed John Coltrane . Another significant early release was The Blues and the Abstract Truth by Oliver Nelson , who led an all-star group that featured Freddie Hubbard , Eric Dolphy , Bill Evans , Paul Chambers , and Roy Haynes . Nelson played an important role in the label's early years before relocating to Los Angeles, where he became an arranger for film and television. Taylor left Impulse! in
243-502: The Papas , Steppenwolf , Three Dog Night , and The Grass Roots . Impulse! was moved to share headquarters with ABC-Dunhill in Los Angeles . By this time, pop-rock acts dominated the company's output, with Impulse! releases accounting for only 5 percent of total sales. It was also during this time that Impulse! became the first all-jazz label to release a rock album when it issued Trespass ,
270-493: The UK. Demand from ABC's European distributor EMI for an album forced ABC to issue one, but they did not promote the album and it did not chart in the U.S. Twenty years later, it became the most successful recording of both Armstrong's and Thiele's careers, thanks to its inclusion on the soundtrack Good Morning, Vietnam . Under the guidance of Ed Michel , Thiele's successor, Impulse! continued to issue significant recordings, including
297-486: The catalog number below it. One exception is the album A Love Supreme , which used the design in black and white. In 1968 the circular front-cover badge was replaced by a one-color design featuring a simplified Impulse! logo and the ABC Records logo side by side within a divided rectangular border. Album covers often featured stylish, large-format photographs or paintings, usually in color, which were typically bled out to
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#1732897809550324-561: The debut album by the Liberation Music Orchestra , the first of four collaborations between Charlie Haden and Carla Bley . The company also acquired LP masters that Sun Ra had recorded for his private label, making them more widely available for the first time. In the early 1970s, ABC restructured its recording division, merging the ABC label with its other pop-rock subsidiary, Dunhill Records , whose roster included The Mamas &
351-592: The early 1950s, ABC acquired the Blue Network of radio stations from NBC and later merged with the newly independent Paramount Theaters chain, formerly owned by Paramount Pictures . The new recording division was located at 1501 Broadway , above the Paramount Theatre in Times Square . Under the leadership of Leonard Goldenson , the former head of Paramount Pictures, the company "sought to establish itself as
378-428: The edges of the cover and printed on glossy laminated stock. Many of the best-known Impulse! covers were designed by art director Robert Flynn and photographed by a small group that included Pete Turner , who shot covers for Verve, A&M , and CTI ; Chuck Stewart ; Arnold Newman ; Ted Russell ; and Joe Alper , who was known for his early ’60s photographs of Bob Dylan ) The sparse black-and-white back covers bore
405-550: The highest profile and the strongest and most consistent sales of any Impulse! artist. In addition to its artistic influence, Coltrane's 1965 LP A Love Supreme became one of the most successful jazz albums ever released, selling over 100,000 copies on its first release. By 1970 it had sold more than half a million. Roger McGuinn of the Byrds has stated that he listened to Coltrane extensively in this period, and that Coltrane's saxophone playing influenced his 12-string guitar playing on
432-412: The hit " Eight Miles High ". Thiele severed his ties with Impulse! in 1969, setting up a short-lived deal to provide independently produced recordings, before leaving the label entirely to establish his own imprint, Flying Dutchman Records . Thiele's departure was in part precipitated by the breakdown of his relationship with Larry Newton , the president of ABC Records. One of Thiele's last productions
459-626: The late-1940s and Thiele joined American Decca in 1952, running its Coral subsidiary. His last wife was the singer Teresa Brewer , whom he met and produced while working for Decca in the 1950s. Thiele was head of the Impulse! Records label from 1961 to 1969 after its originator Creed Taylor left to run Verve . While at Impulse, Thiele's best known association was with John Coltrane , but he also recorded such artists as Charles Mingus , Duke Ellington , Sonny Rollins , Archie Shepp , and Albert Ayler among others. His most successful hit song, " What
486-526: The name "Pulse" but then learned there was already a label with that name, so he added a prefix. In the mid-1960s, the headquarters of Impulse! was moved to 1130 Avenue of the Americas . Impulse!'s albums are known for their visual appeal. The black, orange, and white livery was devised by Fran Attaway (then known as Fran Scott), whom Taylor also credits with establishing the label's tradition of using cutting-edge photographers for its covers. The color scheme
513-531: The names of his uncles, Stanley, Clayton, George, and Douglas. Thiele is credited as co-writer of a few other songs, none having anything remotely close to the success of "What a Wonderful World." In the late 1960s, Thiele was often brought in to produce artists on the company's Bluesway label. He produced the albums that graduated B.B. King toward the mainstream, including Lucille (1967). He also produced BluesWay recordings by John Lee Hooker , T-Bone Walker , and others. After seven years with ABC Records,
540-545: The parent of Impulse, Thiele formed his own company, Flying Dutchman Productions, in 1968. Thiele later formed his own record label, Flying Dutchman , which is now part of Sony Music Entertainment . Later in his career, Thiele formed the Doctor Jazz label in 1983; it appears to have ceased trading around 1989 after Columbia was bought by Sony . His Red Baron label was apparently an entirely separate operation. Founded around 1991, Red Baron releases included several projects by
567-570: The second album by Genesis , in the U.S. in 1970. In 1974, ABC acquired the Famous Music labels and catalog from Gulf+Western , and subsequently, that company's jazz recordings were incorporated into the Impulse! catalog. New recordings from the label ceased in the late 1970s, but ABC reissued titles until the company was sold to MCA Records in 1979. The label lay dormant until it was resurrected in 1992 as part of MCA’s GRP Records , during which time
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#1732897809550594-452: The slogan "The New Wave of Jazz is on IMPULSE!" Most Impulse! LPs were issued in a gatefold sleeve, with photographs, liner notes, and, in some cases, multi-page booklets. Taylor achieved early success by signing Ray Charles , who had just ended his contract with Atlantic Records . Charles's Genius + Soul = Jazz gave the label its first hit and became the fourth-highest charting album of his career. Other early successes included Out of
621-586: The summer of 1961 after being approached by MGM to become the head of Verve Records . Bob Thiele , Taylor's successor, produced most of the albums in the 1960s. He had worked for Decca Records and its subsidiaries Coral and Brunswick , where his production credits included Alan Dale , the McGuire Sisters , Pearl Bailey , and Theresa Brewer , whom he married. Despite resistance from Decca executives who were suspicious of rock and roll, Thiele signed Buddy Holly in 1957. Thiele's first Impulse! production
648-974: Was Coltrane's Live! at the Village Vanguard , released in March 1962. Although unfamiliar with the "new jazz" movement, Thiele backed his artists, afforded them unprecedented freedom in their repertoire, and gave leading acts like Coltrane carte blanche in the studio. Impulse! during the Thiele years is recognized as a key outlet for free jazz and the musical movement spearheaded by Coltrane, Freddie Hubbard , Archie Shepp , and McCoy Tyner . In addition to avant-garde releases, Thiele also produced collaborations between Coltrane and two of their mutual heroes, Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins . Other notable performers who recorded for Impulse! during this period included Charles Mingus . Aided by good promotion and ABC-Paramount's well-established distribution chain, Coltrane enjoyed
675-630: Was an American record producer who worked on numerous classic jazz albums and record labels. Bob Thiele was born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn , New York, United States, on July 27, 1922. He hosted a jazz radio show when he was 14. He also played clarinet and led a band in the New York area. At 17, he founded the Signature label and recorded jazz musicians such as Lester Young , Erroll Garner and, in 1943, Coleman Hawkins . Signature ceased activities in
702-406: Was chosen for its brightness and because no other label used this combination. The label's logo featured the Impulse! name in a heavy, sans-serif, lower-cased font, followed by an exclamation mark that mirrors the lower-case "i" at the beginning. For most of the 1960s, Impulse!'s album covers featured the logo in orange letters in a white circle, with black-and-orange exclamation marks above it, and
729-461: Was the Louis Armstrong song " What a Wonderful World ", which Thiele co-wrote and produced for ABC's pop division shortly before Armstrong's death. Although the musicians were apparently unaware of the drama, the recording session is reported to have been the scene of a clash between Thiele and Newton. When Newton arrived at the session he became upset when he discovered that Armstrong was recording
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