Impulse vs Blue Note

FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
edited May 2018 in Music Talk
For the title of greatest jazz label evar.I been obsessing over this for about 15 years and I'm gonna have to give it to Impulse.sound: drawboth had van geldercovers: impulseclose, respect to reid miles and francis wolf, but those gatefolds and orange black spines.catalog: impulseColtrane. blue note focus was more hard bop and modal. impulse had a good amount of that (not as much) and that angry black shit. or spiritual. whatever you people call it now.
TAGGED:
«13

  Comments


  • leisurebanditleisurebandit 1,006 Posts
    i say Blue Note

    despite Coltrane being my favorite artist ever

    Blue Note was around so much longer and covered so much more ground

    also, percentage wise, there are less Blue Notes that I don't care about than Impulse.

  • CousinLarryCousinLarry 4,618 Posts
    i say Blue Note

    despite Coltrane being my favorite artist ever

    Blue Note was around so much longer and covered so much more ground

    also, percentage wise, there are less Blue Notes that I don't care about than Impulse.

    This was my initial thought too, but there are a high number of late era blue note terds out there too.

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    Taylor did roll the dice on some terdly product. maybe 4 or 5? that's not enough to tip the balance imo.

  • ReynaldoReynaldo 6,054 Posts
    You should compare the best BN releases with best Impulse releases. The records that aren't great don't really matter and shouldn't figure in. The catalog with the greater amount of greatness is greater.

  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    i'd have to go with Blue Note on a technicality (i have more Blue Notes than Impulses)

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    You should compare the best BN releases with best Impulse releases. The records that aren't great don't really matter and shouldn't figure in. The catalog with the greater amount of greatness is greater.

    ok. off the cuff...


    my top five blue notes:

    out to lunch
    maiden voyage
    soul station
    sonnny rollins live at the VV
    dialogue

    impulse:

    impressions
    black saint and the sinner lady
    blues and the abstract truth
    four for trane
    journey in satchidananda

    (sampling will not work. even if i went top ten or tweenty.)


  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    i've already made my choice and i stand by it.

    you?

  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts

    covers: impulse
    close, respect to reid miles and francis wolf, but those gatefolds and orange black spines.

    and both labels' covers started looking more generic around 1968

    (have you ever read that book about Impulse Records? i forget who it was, but somebody at Impulse, maybe Bob Thiele, had a shit fit when somebody at ABC's art department stopped doing the orange/black spines...note that when Thiele left ABC/Impulse and started Flying Dutchman, for the first few years, the cover art was in the old Impulse tradition, with Impulse-ish spines, gatefolds, and photos of the session musicians)

    catalog: impulse

    Coltrane.

    wasn't coltrane on Blue Note as well?

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts


    catalog: impulse

    Coltrane.

    wasn't coltrane on Blue Note as well?

    not like that

  • For the title of greatest jazz label evar.

    covers: impulse
    close, respect to reid miles and francis wolf, but those gatefolds and orange black spines.


    Madness....


    Blue Note in all respects by a mile.

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    For the title of greatest jazz label evar.

    covers: impulse
    close, respect to reid miles and francis wolf, but those gatefolds and orange black spines.


    Madness....


    Blue Note in all respects by a mile.

    You don't dig the out stuff though, right?

  • ReynaldoReynaldo 6,054 Posts
    Impulse is more interesting to me because of the Coltrane and Mingus stuff but I can see why BN would be the most obvious choice.

  • For the title of greatest jazz label evar.

    covers: impulse
    close, respect to reid miles and francis wolf, but those gatefolds and orange black spines.


    Madness....


    Blue Note in all respects by a mile.

    You don't dig the out stuff though, right?


    Some of my favorite stuff is the inside/outside sound where they butt right up against the line without crossing over too far, but no, with rare exceptions I don't care too much for the really out stuff.

    The madness comment was aimed at the design aspect. Reid Miles is by far one of the most influential designers of his time, evidenced in the countless imitations of his Blue Note designs. I can't remember ever seeing an Impulse pastiche. The orange/black spine is iconic, but compared to covers like Larry Young's 'Unity' or the Grachan Moncur with the blue and white cover (can't remember the title right now)?

  • leisurebanditleisurebandit 1,006 Posts


    wasn't coltrane on Blue Note as well?

    one album as a leader

  • I'm going with impulse because they were generally more experimental and they covered a wider breadth of music (blues, free jazz). that plus ed michel is the man.

    some of my favourite Impulse Lp's:
    Bill Plummer - "Cosmic Brotherhood"
    Mel Brown- Wizard
    Alice Coltrane-Huntington Ashram
    Cliff Coulter- East Side San Jose
    Mingus-Black Saint
    Gary Saracho- En Medio
    Micheal White- Go with the flow
    SOnny Rollins- Alfie

  • youngEINSTEINyoungEINSTEIN 2,443 Posts
    youngEINSTEIN Said:

    blue note. no contest.

    peace, stein. . .

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    For the title of greatest jazz label evar.

    covers: impulse
    close, respect to reid miles and francis wolf, but those gatefolds and orange black spines.


    Madness....


    Blue Note in all respects by a mile.

    You don't dig the out stuff though, right?


    Some of my favorite stuff is the inside/outside sound where they butt right up against the line without crossing over too far, but no, with rare exceptions I don't care too much for the really out stuff.

    The madness comment was aimed at the design aspect. Reid Miles is by far one of the most influential designers of his time, evidenced in the countless imitations of his Blue Note designs. I can't remember ever seeing an Impulse pastiche. The orange/black spine is iconic, but compared to covers like Larry Young's 'Unity' or the Grachan Moncur with the blue and white cover (can't remember the title right now)?

    imitation is flattery, but not in itself, testimony of greatness. additionally,
    if you put it all on reid miles, he also did covers for other labels.

    b/w

    what about Forlenza Venosa Associates?

  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts


    Some of my favorite stuff is the inside/outside sound where they butt right up against the line without crossing over too far

    Understanding by John Patton!

    Reid Miles is by far one of the most influential designers of his time, evidenced in the countless imitations of his Blue Note designs. I can't remember ever seeing an Impulse pastiche.

    Well, like I say, Flying Dutchman albums from 1969-72 looked a lot like Impulse, but then again the same man was behind them both.

    Probably doesn't count, then, but it needed to be mentioned.

  • For the title of greatest jazz label evar.

    covers: impulse
    close, respect to reid miles and francis wolf, but those gatefolds and orange black spines.


    Madness....


    Blue Note in all respects by a mile.

    You don't dig the out stuff though, right?


    I don't even think its even close . Impulse was basically a sixties imprint, while Blue Note was around since '39. Blue Note's catalog is so rich and deep, it includes boogie woogie/ bop/ hard bop / modal/ funk and to a lesser degree avant garde/free cuts. Blue Note's "out" records are dope, they had Ornette Coleman/ Sam Rivers/ Eric Dolphy/ Andrew Hill / Larry Young/ Wayne Shorter/Tony Williams/ Grachan Moncur III/ Jackie McClean/ Cecil Taylor all cut sides for them.

  • leisurebanditleisurebandit 1,006 Posts
    You should compare the best BN releases with best Impulse releases. The records that aren't great don't really matter and shouldn't figure in.

    i disagree. to me, the greatest art and artists enter a realm where trying to rank them in comparison is fruitless. Personal preference is one thing, but after a certain point there is no objective way to prove the superiority of a given masterwork over another.
    To take the example at hand, trying to decide whether 'A Love Supreme' is better or worse than 'Speak No Evil' is a futile exercise.

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    You should compare the best BN releases with best Impulse releases. The records that aren't great don't really matter and shouldn't figure in.

    i disagree. to me, the greatest art and artists enter a realm where trying to rank them in comparison is fruitless. Personal preference is one thing, but after a certain point there is no objective way to prove the superiority of a given masterwork over another.
    To take the example at hand, trying to decide whether 'A Love Supreme' is better or worse than 'Speak No Evil' is a futile exercise.

    A Love Supreme.

  • leisurebanditleisurebandit 1,006 Posts
    Personal preference

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    For the title of greatest jazz label evar.

    covers: impulse
    close, respect to reid miles and francis wolf, but those gatefolds and orange black spines.


    Madness....


    Blue Note in all respects by a mile.

    You don't dig the out stuff though, right?


    I don't even think its even close . Impulse was basically a sixties imprint, while Blue Note was around since '39. Blue Note's catalog is so rich and deep, it includes boogie woogie/ bop/ hard bop / modal/ funk and to a lesser degree avant garde/free cuts. Blue Note's "out" records are dope, they had Ornette Coleman/ Sam Rivers/ Eric Dolphy/ Andrew Hill / Larry Young/ Wayne Shorter/Tony Williams/ Grachan Moncur III/ Jackie McClean/ Cecil Taylor all cut sides for them.

    Those are great points. I'm changing to Blue Note. F*ck.

  • ReynaldoReynaldo 6,054 Posts
    You should compare the best BN releases with best Impulse releases. The records that aren't great don't really matter and shouldn't figure in.

    i disagree. to me, the greatest art and artists enter a realm where trying to rank them in comparison is fruitless. Personal preference is one thing, but after a certain point there is no objective way to prove the superiority of a given masterwork over another.
    To take the example at hand, trying to decide whether 'A Love Supreme' is better or worse than 'Speak No Evil' is a futile exercise.
    What I meant was to compare the amount of great art produced by each label, which is objective if one agrees that such a thing as great art exists.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    The catalog with the greater amount of greatness is greater.

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    Personal preference

    What Rey meant to say is that you should stack up the best in each catalog, then popsike each entry. Whatever's worth more is better.


    (Totally gonna be Blue Note)



  • You don't dig the out stuff though, right?

    I don't even think its even close . Impulse was basically a sixties imprint, while Blue Note was around since '39. Blue Note's catalog is so rich and deep, it includes boogie woogie/ bop/ hard bop / modal/ funk and to a lesser degree avant garde/free cuts. Blue Note's "out" records are dope, they had Ornette Coleman/ Sam Rivers/ Eric Dolphy/ Andrew Hill / Larry Young/ Wayne Shorter/Tony Williams/ Grachan Moncur III/ Jackie McClean/ Cecil Taylor all cut sides for them.
    Those are great points. I'm changing to Blue Note. F*ck.
    Don't give up so easy. I like this record tawk.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    For the title of greatest jazz label evar.

    covers: impulse
    close, respect to reid miles and francis wolf, but those gatefolds and orange black spines.


    Madness....


    Blue Note in all respects by a mile.

    You don't dig the out stuff though, right?


    I don't even think its even close . Impulse was basically a sixties imprint, while Blue Note was around since '39. Blue Note's catalog is so rich and deep, it includes boogie woogie/ bop/ hard bop / modal/ funk and to a lesser degree avant garde/free cuts. Blue Note's "out" records are dope, they had Ornette Coleman/ Sam Rivers/ Eric Dolphy/ Andrew Hill / Larry Young/ Wayne Shorter/Tony Williams/ Grachan Moncur III/ Jackie McClean/ Cecil Taylor all cut sides for them.


    Seems to me that Blue Note did boogie woogie and trad in the '39-'55+/- period.

    But most of their catalog '55-'70+/- is very consistent small group jam sessions around a few themes.
    Some artists tended to be more be bop, some more blues, some more modal.

    Impulse on the other hand ranged far and wide.
    An impulse lp can surprise you.

    You always know what you are getting on the Blue Note lp.

    For many labels this would be a liability.
    But the quality of all aspects of a Blue Note product make it an asset.

    I am going with Prestige.

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts


    You don't dig the out stuff though, right?


    I don't even think its even close . Impulse was basically a sixties imprint, while Blue Note was around since '39. Blue Note's catalog is so rich and deep, it includes boogie woogie/ bop/ hard bop / modal/ funk and to a lesser degree avant garde/free cuts. Blue Note's "out" records are dope, they had Ornette Coleman/ Sam Rivers/ Eric Dolphy/ Andrew Hill / Larry Young/ Wayne Shorter/Tony Williams/ Grachan Moncur III/ Jackie McClean/ Cecil Taylor all cut sides for them.
    Those are great points. I'm changing to Blue Note. F*ck.
    Don't give up so easy. I like this record tawk.
    It's not giving up. Like if this was CTI vs Impulse.
Sign In or Register to comment.