Impulse!

Label was established in November 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a jazz subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records in New York. Originally named “Pulse” but changed due to trademark conflict. Marketing slogan: “The New Wave Of Jazz Is On Impulse!” Distinctive visual identity featured black, orange, and white color scheme designed by Fran Attaway, with photographers Pete Turner and Arnold Newman creating iconic cover art. First releases in January 1961 included The Great Kai & J.J. by Kai Winding and J.J. Johnson, Gil Evans’ “Out of the Cool”, and Ray Charles’ “Genius + Soul = Jazz”. Taylor signed John Coltrane from Atlantic Records, with first album “Africa/Brass” arriving September 1961. Recording at Rudy Van Gelder’s Englewood Cliffs studio established audiophile sound quality. Taylor departed for Verve in summer 1961.

Bob Thiele succeeded Taylor as producer, giving artists unprecedented creative freedom despite being unfamiliar with “new jazz.” John Coltrane became the label’s cornerstone with “Live! at the Village Vanguard” (1962), “Ballads” (1963), and landmark “A Love Supreme” (1965)—which sold over 500,000 copies by 1970. Label earned its nickname “the house that Trane built.” Key signings included Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp (1964), Albert Ayler, and Alice Coltrane. Other major artists: Ahmad Jamal (“The Awakening” 1970), McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Yusef Lateef, Charles Mingus. Impulse became the definitive outlet for Free Jazz, Post Bop, and the spiritual jazz movement. Coltrane’s death from liver cancer in July 1967 was a devastating loss.

Alice Coltrane emerged with deeply spiritual albums: “A Monastic Trio” (1968), “Journey In Satchidananda” (1971), and “Ptah, The El Daoud” (1970). Thiele departed in 1969 to launch Flying Dutchman Records after his relationship with ABC president Larry Newton deteriorated. Keith Jarrett and other fresh talents joined Impulse!. Label design changed in 1968 when circular front-cover badge was replaced by simplified rectangular Impulse!/ABC Records logo. ABC was acquired by MCA in 1974, leading to quality deterioration with thin vinyl and poor pressings. New recordings ceased by the late 1970s.

MCA Records acquired ABC in 1979 and revived Impulse with classic album reissues and limited new recordings through the 1980s. Mid-1990s revival brought contracts with McCoy Tyner, Horace Silver, and Diana Krall for new albums. The 1998 MCA-PolyGram merger created Universal Music Group, and by February 1999 Impulse became a reissue-only label under Verve Music Group. Extensive reissue programs included “Deluxe Editions” with unreleased takes and comprehensive box sets. Modern artists signed in 2010s-2020s: Brandee Younger, Irreversible Entanglements, The Messthetics, Sons Of Kemet. Label maintains an iconic orange-and-black color scheme. Legacy: most influential jazz label of the 1960s, defining spiritual jazz and free jazz movements for generations.