Design
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.[6] The color scheme was chosen for its brightness and because no other label used this combination.[7]
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 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 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 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.
Early success
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.[8] Other early successes included Out of the Cool by Gil Evans. Taylor also signed John Coltrane.[9]
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 the summer of 1961 after being approached by MGM to become the head of Verve Records.
The Thiele Years: 1961–69
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.[10]
Thiele's first Impulse! production 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.
The 1970s
Under the guidance of Ed Michel, Thiele's successor, Impulse! continued to issue significant recordings. 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 & 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, 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 the label started releasing important titles that had otherwise been unavailable and began signing new artists during the late 1990s.
