Impulse in Europe

Last Updated: January 27, 2020

1. France

1.1 First issues in France by VEGA, early Sixties

Note: French VEGA issues have liner notes in French. No indication whether US metal or remastered from copy tape. Catalogue number IMP 10 corresponds to USA A-10.Correctly attributed to “Am Par”

1.2 Later ’60s French Impulse reissue

Attributed to ABC Records Inc, later form of Paramount’s original form “Am Par”. Catalogue number given as AS 6 A – the suffix A/B was added only from A 72 onwards, and to earlier titles reissued after that time.

2. UK Impulse (HMV) early Sixties

2.1 Impulse released in UK under license by HMV , pressed by EMI

2.2 Late Sixties UK HMV Impulse

Still under license to HMV, but the black label small Nipper.

2.3 Seventies Impulse – UK direct release by Impulse no longer needing a licensee.

3. Italy Early Sixties La Voce Del Padrone (His Masters Voice)

Italian purple HMV label releasing Impulse under license through Italian subsidiary. There is something about that language: “Disco infrangibile”

4. Holland – Artone

5. Spain – Hispavox – Estereo! – mid ’60s

(Photo Credit: Discogs)

6. Germany

Note anachronism – Am Par on label

Photo Courtesy of Marko

Another German issue, A-20, thanks to Kyle L. Note the runout groove and stamped matrix is of local origin, not US metal – hence remastered from copy tape. Label repeats the AM-PAR credit (generic?), BIEM rights agency, which is worldwide not only Germany.

Next: Impulse in Japan

39 thoughts on “Impulse in Europe”

albinhunia on January 31, 2023 at 19:25 said:

Now listening to ‘Coltrane “LIVE” at the Village Vanguard’ on excellent sounding Dutch pressing HAS 10, with orange-black label. Non-gatefold sleeve.. ‘RVG STEREO’ in the runout. Discogs tells me that N.V. Bovema pressed it (they also did excellent Blue Note reissues!), but not in which year. Familiar?

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- LondonJazzCollector on January 31, 2023 at 19:32 said:
  
  Pictures helpful to refine understanding – text fonts, pressing stamps, legalese, which no-one ever seems to describe. If you have images, email me, or upload here via third-party hosting.
  LJC
  
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  - albinhunia on January 31, 2023 at 20:15 said:
    
    See attached images. So not the over-all orange Artone version, but a classic-Impulse! looking orange-black label. And excellent sound – no complaints there! Haphazard purchase that arrived in the (Netherlands) mail today.. had no idea which version I was buying for â¬20 + mail costs :-}Â greeting! Albin HuniaÂ
    
    Verzonden via Yahoo Mail op Android
    
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    - LondonJazzCollector on February 1, 2023 at 05:19 said:
      
      Sorry, file attachments (images) are not supported in WordPress comments. Pictures need to be emailed directly to me at my mailbox address in CONTACT LJC in the blog banner, or uploaded to a third party image hosting site like Flickr, and you can then post the url in comments here. Could you please try either of these methods to share your pictures, thanks.
      
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Albin _roadjazz_ on March 3, 2020 at 22:29 said:

Dear LJC,

Maybe I’ve been browsing too quickly through this and your other Impulse labels guide.. ..but I seem to be missing the German Impulse/EMI/Columbia LP light-blue label (‘The Happy Horns of Clark Terry’) in your list..? Discogs mentions it’s from 1969.

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damien cluzel on January 26, 2020 at 21:04 said:

Hello
Great site!
Thank you
The first French press of the impulse catalog were first released on Vega (mono)
without gatefold cover but flip back cover
Around 1967 Vega stops they start the kind of press you show on the picture with the U & gravure universelle (Stéréo) and With American gatefold cover
Begin 70s Carrere took over.

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- LondonJazzCollector on January 27, 2020 at 07:46 said:
  
  Thanks for info Damien, very helpful, permitted me to track down VEGA issue and update the Impulse in France labels.
  
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addercakes on May 26, 2019 at 21:35 said:

Has anyone got any experience with the 70’s UK Impulse releases?

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- LondonJazzCollector on May 28, 2019 at 08:16 said:
  
  70s? The watershed is around 1973, when the black label red rim changes over to the all-black/neon logo. Though original orange label black ring is best where available, the black /red rim is quite acceptable, often uses same metal.
  
  The quality slips with the black/neon logo from 1973-8. Those Sun Ra reissues are pretty poor! Come 1978 arrives the green label, which are worse still.
  
  Generalisations of course, may depend a lot on title and underlying recording quality of that title, but a reasonable guide.
  
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  - addercakes on January 6, 2020 at 14:45 said:
    
    Sorry, I meant to the UK releases that were pressed after the HMV type.
    
    Are these comparable to the red ring US Impulse releases
    
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    - LondonJazzCollector on January 6, 2020 at 16:04 said:
      
      Post-HMV UK manufactured Impulse, signifcantly inferior to US Black Red Rim. UK pressing went down hill fast after HMV. Even HMV, though they sound quite decent if that is all you have heard, do not compare well against original Van Gelder US pressings.
      
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Marko on March 27, 2018 at 22:26 said:

Anyone got any info on German pressings? I’ve got a Coltrane’s Live At Birdland that has “Made in Germany” stamped in dead wax. It also says Am-Par, not Abc Paramount on thr label. What’s the story behind this? The sleeve is same as -64 US.

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- LondonJazzCollector on March 28, 2018 at 08:40 said:
  
  There were a couple of hundred US military bases around Germany at this time, must have been some jazz fans among them, surprised we don’t see more. It is not unknown for overseas licensees to have out of date corporate identities with their printer. A photo of the label would be helpful.
  
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  - Marko on March 28, 2018 at 09:15 said:
    
    Hi,
    
    Here’s label from both sides: https://imgur.com/a/qyV8f
    You can also find more info from Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/Coltrane-Live-At-Birdland/release/11705116
    I made the contribution immediately as I got hold of the record as I couldn’t find any info of it.
    
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    - LondonJazzCollector on March 28, 2018 at 10:54 said:
      
      Fast work! Retouched and uploaded to the Impulse In Europe page, thanks.
      LJC
      
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Pete on November 7, 2016 at 20:45 said:

I am currently staying over in Barcelona and have just picked up a Spanish Impulse pressing. Cover is gatefold US origin but vinyl is ‘under licence’ and on Hispavox without RVG etc in deadwax. A-52 mono Salt and Pepper, Sonny Stitt and Paul Gonsalves. €10, hola!

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- LongPlay33 on June 5, 2017 at 11:26 said:
  
  Do you know if this is a Frankenstein copy? i.e. a mismatched sleeve/record combination? Or were the Spanish pressings purposefully paired with US sleeves?
  
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  - LondonJazzCollector on June 5, 2017 at 13:44 said:
    
    Impulse/ Hispavox label uploaded. Thanks for the tip-off, not seen this one before. Hola, Estereo!
    
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    - Anonymous on November 4, 2021 at 11:54 said:
      
      I have a spanish pressing of “The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard”. Its a 1966 Hispavox in a US-made gatefold-sleeve and it sounds very nice. Definitely better than non-RVG american pressings of the 70s.
      
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Jan on August 23, 2016 at 13:28 said:

According to May 1967 Billboard article :
https://books.google.cz/books?id=5icEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60&dq=manufacturing+impulse+records+in+france&hl=cs&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiTjt2AwNfOAhUJcRQKHY0fAUQQ6AEIPjAE#v=onepage&q=manufacturing%20impulse%20records%20in%20france&f=false
later french Impulse! (not Vega) pressings were made by Pathe Marconi with imported sleeves.
Much more better than late(after 1971) US reissues in my oppinion.

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- Rudolf on August 23, 2016 at 18:56 said:
  
  The Vega and Pathé Marconi pressings were both excellent and certainly beat later US versions.
  
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Simon on July 1, 2016 at 17:34 said:

I was in Barcelona earlier this week and bought a french pressing of Sun Ship, also in orange/black ring making it much more attractive than the original US press 🙂
I think it sounds very lively.

/Simon

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Luciano on July 31, 2015 at 16:21 said:

Ok I misunderstood your comment. It could be that Africa Brass is the only Impulse issued by La Voce and with that label. I was lucky to find a NM copy of this one, it’s a fully laminated (not gatefold) cover and thick vinyl.

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Rudolf on February 21, 2015 at 21:19 said:

Regarding LJC’s question whether this french Impulse is from imported stampers or locally made, I can only give an answer for my Véga pressing: it has A 35 1 printed in the dead wax, nothing else. My american pressing of same has AS 35 hand-etched and RVG and stereo printed. Thus the Véga looks to have been made from a french master. The sound of this album is very good, the top.

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Rudolf on February 21, 2015 at 19:58 said:

I acquired a VEGA pressing of Impulse 35. It is not G.U. (gravure universelle, i.e. mono/stereo), like the one shown hereinabove from the french seller, but a real monaural issue. Orange/black labels, in small characters “production vega”, BIEM and a circular text in white characters. The cover is a soft flip over cover with a french text, unlike the imported US fold-out cover with English text of my former AS-121, which had a gold G.U. sticker on it.

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andycronshaw on January 19, 2015 at 14:50 said:

Today I saw an Italian pressing of Blues and Abstract Truth at my LBS (with the label as shown above) which had the RVG stamp in the deadwax. Any experience of this? I passed on it but may go back – after all an original is not going to be cheap – it was in excellent condition as well.

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- andycronshaw on January 19, 2015 at 14:51 said:
  
  My LRS I should say – mixing up my hobbies there!
  
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  - LondonJazzCollector on January 19, 2015 at 20:58 said:
    
    Yes., it exists. Astonishingly, it seems Impulse sent RVG-originating metalwork to press this title in Italy, the same production model as was used between Prestige and Esquire. I have listened to said title on Italian Impulse obtained by a friend, and I can confirm it is the real deal.
    
    Whether this practice applied to other titles I have no way of knowing, but if you can find the Italian edition of B&TAT, grab it with both hands
    
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    - break from on January 19, 2015 at 22:00 said:
      
      Well it would churlish not to go back and pick it up now. I think what put me off was the lack of a gatefold cover – it was £20 though and for that you can’t have it all
      
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      - break from on January 22, 2015 at 22:46 said:
        
        Well, solid advice as ever LJC. I returned to pick this up and I am most pleased. Despite the large scale orchestration the mono is surprisingly good on this edition and the music emerges from a black background on pretty much excellent grade vinyl.
        As fate would have it, I also discovered, on the same return visit to my shop, an earlier red-ring Impulse! label pressing and Van Gelder Stereo-stamped edition of Gil Evans’ Out of the Cool for a tenner. The vinyl was a bit noisier and the Italian pressing compared very well.
        
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    - dottorjazz on January 23, 2015 at 20:45 said:
      
      I’ve never seen such pressings, neither one in my life.
      I’ve been collecting Impulse since 1968: at the time all were original USA issues, distributed by La Voce del Padrone (italian for HMV).
      first years of label may have been printed under license.
      “disco infrangibile” means unbreakable record.
      
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      - break from on January 25, 2015 at 19:37 said:
        
        If you look carefully you can see part of the RVG stamp in the deadwax of the label of Africa Brass shown above – right in the bottom left hand corner.
        
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        Luciano on July 29, 2015 at 12:29 said:
        
        Dottorjazz, would you be so kind to tell us which coltrane’s Impulse! titles were issued in Italy by La voce del Padrone? Or all the Impulse! in general if you want. Thank you! Luciano
        
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        dottorjazz on July 30, 2015 at 05:28 said:
        
        hi Luciano: I don’t know. as I wrote, I’ve never seen an Italian issue. the whole USA catalogue was widely distributed since the first numbers and was easily available in record shops. as originals had a greater appeal (album covers), I don’t think many numbers were pressed.
        
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- The Vinyl Traveller on July 4, 2016 at 20:48 said:
  
  Found one few days ago I will listen to it and will let you know.
  
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LondonJazzCollector on February 15, 2014 at 22:32 said:

French Impulse are not US metalwork like Prestige. They are remastered by local engineers from copy tape. Frankly they vary from title to title, some good, some indifferent. If you want to be sure what you are getting, there is no substitute for Impulse RVG/VAN GELDER original US. sad but an expensive fact of life.

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thebeathunters on February 15, 2014 at 17:12 said:

renaissance of a buried thread: are french impulse from the sixties “rebadged” u.s or genuine french pressings? some say Pathé plants managed it but used imported/printed u.s sleeve covers.
they sound very good anyway
any info welcomed…

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- Rudolf on January 19, 2015 at 21:44 said:
  
  I saw a french Impulse issued by VEGA, orange/black label though. No chance to listen to it.
  
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- Rudolf on January 23, 2015 at 21:21 said:
  
  I have had a french pressing Impulse (BIEM) orange/black labels with an imported US foldout sleeve (AS-121), laminated. I traded it for an original US pressing.
  
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