Presto Playlist, Impulse! Records, 'Irrepressible Impulses'

“A potpourri of energized [sic] tracks designed to satisfy your insatiable need for growth music” is the briefly evocative description gracing the cover of the sampler compilation, Irrepressible Impulses (1972). A concise but cohesive musical affair, the record features succinct slices of everything at the creative forefront of Impulse! Records’ late-sixties and early-seventies remit, from astral-bound spiritual jazz to politically-charged protest anthems. But how did this largely indistinctive album, with its wide-ranging brand of left-field jazz, prove to be one of the cornerstones that would help cement its label’s legacy?

From its creation in 1960, Impulse! had confidently branded its own output as "the new wave of jazz". Commonly referred to as ‘the house that Trane built’, it has since served as the home for the popular branch of radical jazz artists and their music; starting, as you may already have guessed, with none other than saxophonist John Coltrane himself.

The inception of Irrepressible Impulses came about following the appointment of Steve Backer as director of parent-label ABC Records' promotional wing. For his first trick, Backer – an impassioned jazz aficionado and lifelong supporter of visionary creatives – had arranged a regional concert package tour of some of Impulse!’s leading avant-garde acts, including Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp, before presenting them to packed audiences around the rock-venues and colleges of America. This was more than just a gimmick to Backer, who truly believed that the cutting-edge jazz vanguard of the day deserved to be held in the same esteem as other, more commercially-acclaimed performers. 

Despite the tour’s success, Backer still hadn’t achieved all he could with bringing the music of Impulse!'s artists to the attention of a larger audience. Since Coltrane’s passing in 1967 and the swift exit of label-boss Bob Thiele falling shortly after, the business had entered a veritable dry-patch. Sure, there was the occasional fiery new release from Shepp, another otherworldly session from Coltrane’s widow, Alice. But the explosive A&R which tapped into the spirit of the decade had seemingly exhausted itself, with many of the leading experimentalists of the day chasing success elsewhere across Europe and Japan. There were to be no fresh signings for the forseeable future. 

For the label's roster, who carefully had to balance time on the road with precious hours spent in the studio, it seemed the logical thing to do would be to allow their recordings to travel via America’s airwaves instead. And so, the idea for Irrepressible Impulses was hatched. The producer responsible for the compilation’s assemblage was Ed Michel: “I believe it was a sampler to sell at a low price,” Ed recalls. “Steve Backer had joined the ABC family and was interested in publicity and promotion to boost sales. I was glad of that, because the label was sort of a stepchild of the overall pop-orientation of the family... the suits were interested in [those] sorts of sales figures.” As a promotional stunt, the album served the dual purpose of providing a welcoming introduction to new listeners as well as an urgent reminder to unbothered radio disc-jockeys as to what was going on right under their noses, or, as Backer put it, “on the street level — the place it’s all really at.”

Having been at the helm of several of these classic albums at their time of recording, Michel was no stranger to the stringent demands of the scene: “'72 was a powerful year for us, because what was called ‘free-form’ radio was flowering… it became a powerful tool because it would play the kinds of music Impulse! represented, which was anathema to pop-oriented AM radio.” Jazz historian Ashley Kahn adds: “These catalogue compilations, which followed the general industry trend initiated by Warner Bros.' Loss Leader collections, were aimed at the youth market.” The hallucinatory front cover’s futuristic design, concocted by visual art combo The Overland Vegetable Stagecoach, certainly attests to this attempt at appealing to younger sets of eyes (and, subsequently, ears). 

It is uncertain as to how much impact this humbly enriching album had on the wider consciousness of audiences in the early seventies. But, if the reignition of the label's creative juices in the immediate aftermath is anything to go by, it is clear that through the combined ingenuity of Backer and Michel, Impulse! wasn't going anywhere for the time being. During its unofficial fallow period, administrative changes higher up had seen the merging of ABC with the pop-rock Dunhill Records, meaning that the all-jazz subsidiary became the first label of its kind to issue a rock record in the form of Genesis' second album, Trespass (1970). 1973 saw the turning of a new leaf, however, with the signing of Gato Barbieri anticipating a decade that would embrace the groundbreaking music of Keith Jarrett, Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra and many more to come. 

Following the antics of his sincere promotional wizardry, Backer inevitably rose to manage Impulse! before departing to head the jazz division of the recently-founded Arista Records in 1974. He died in 2014 at the age of 76, having left behind an indelible mark on the music of the mid-to-late century, or, as he may knowingly have called it, 'the hip new thing'. 

With special thanks to Allan Castle, Ashley Kahn and Ed Michel. 

You can find each track from the original compilation* in its full-album setting below. Alternatively, explore our online playlist here or visit the Presto app!

*not including Cliff Coulter's 'Worry 'Bout It Later' from Do It Now, Worry 'Bout It Later (1972).