The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records
Ashley Khan
W.W. Norton, 2006
352 pages

There are many legends surrounding the life of jazz musician John Coltrane. Through the numerous books, articles and recordings devoted to his life and music, an almost mythical reputation has evolved to the point where he could walk on water or part the oceans with a solitary blast from his tenor sax. In that context, it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish where reality ends and mythology begins.

Ashley Khan’s “The House That Trane Built” fortunately eschews mythology to give us the history of one of the more important record labels in jazz, Impulse Records, and the role Coltrane had in the development of the label. Khan is the author of two previous jazz books, “Kind of Blue,” a detailed look at the classic Miles Davis recording session, and “A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane’s Signature Album.” With his latest book, Khan gives us a thoughtful and well written document of how a new company was nurtured into one of the important jazz labels of the 1960s and early 1970s, becoming a haven for artists ranging from those playing the earliest traditional forms of the music to the latest players in the burgeoning avant-garde movement. And while Coltrane is a focus of the proceedings here, he does not dominate; rather, this is a story of the label itself, from its signature gate-fold covers with the orange and black spines and front cover color photographs to its iconic logo of the word “impulse!” to the its place in the market, competing against the various independent jazz labels of the time, including Blue Note Records, which was the leading independent label in the 1950s and ’60s.

Khan traces the formation of Impulse from its earliest beginnings as an idea for a jazz label for ABC-Paramount Records, developed by producer/A&R man Creed Taylor, to the label’s first recordings, most notably Ray Charles’ “Genius + Soul=Jazz” and Oliver Nelson’s “Blues and the Abstract Truth,” to the signing of Coltrane to the label in 1961. Coltrane would go on to record over 25 titles for the label, making him one of Impulse’s most productive artists. The book also covers the departure of Taylor and the arrival of veteran A&R guru Bob Thiele, who would help Impulse expand and flourish between 1961 and 1969, signing a number of important jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, who would record with Coltrane in 1962, Ben Webster, Benny Carter, Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry and organist Shirley Scott, as well as avant garde musicians such as Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler and Sun Ra.

The book also covers the period from 1969 to the late 1970s, when producer Ed Michel took over and guided the label through what would be a fallow time for jazz labels by signing artists such as Keith Jarrett, John Klemmer and Sam Rivers. Through it all, Khan gives us a vivid portrayal of the growth of a jazz label, including analyses of a number of Impulse recordings, as well as a look at the vagaries of the music industry itself.

My one small complaint with the book has to do with layout. The numerous LP analyses placed throughout the main text of the book result in a continually disturbing interruption of the overall narrative. Placing these informative short pieces at the end of each chapter would give the book a greater sense of flow. The book also contains a thorough list of sources, a complete label discography, a list of important Impulse personnel, and an extensive bibliography. What comes through most strongly, however, is Khan’s subtle enthusiasm for the label’s history and its main progenitor.

That enthusiasm never overshadows the author’s objectivity. Khan’s writing style allows the reader to fully understand the material without overt simplification or forced appreciation. Readers are left with a vivid look at a transitional period in jazz history with its inherent ups and downs, as well as insight into an artist at the peak of his creativity and exploration, and how those qualities helped a record label flourish.