This album is a humble offering to Him. An attempt to say “THANK YOU GOD” through our work, even as we do in our hearts and with our tongues. May He help and strengthen all men in every good endeavor.
—John Coltrane
Thanks to music writer Chris Morris for reminding me that John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme album was recorded 50 years ago today. Make no mistake, I’m not some intense jazzbo who’s spent thousands of hours digesting the Blue Note and Impulse! catalogs. But, I’ve spent enough time with the genre to know that this is one of the more monumental artistic efforts of the 20th century. I get that jazz will automatically alienate like 90% of music fans. Plus, Coltrane makes you work for it, even by jazz standards, so I’m guessing another 5% drop out. But, if you five-percenters stick with it, you’ll be immersed in a soulful, spiritual journey featuring Trane (soprano and tenor sax), McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (double bass), and Elvin Jones (drums) at the top of their form. A Love Supreme is the sound of a man fighting off demons to speak with angels and you’re lucky that you get to hear the results.
True story: The John Coltrane Quartet performed A Love Supreme in its entirety exactly ONCE and below is the only existing footage of said performance. The video is 12 minutes long and contains the complete first movement of the four-part suite (“Acknowledgement”) and roughly half the second movement (“Resolution”). According to legend, the rest of the video tapes were burned in a fire, but who knows. Maybe the tapes were mislabeled and are a stunning musicological discovery waiting to happen. Whatever the case, please enjoy this priceless historical artifact and if you haven’t already done so, check out A Love Supreme (purchase links below).
John Coltrane Quartet – A Love Supreme
Antibes Jazz Festival, France
July 26, 1965
Buy original album on Amazon
Buy Antibes set on Amazon
http://youtu.be/_qt435yF2Qg
“A love supreme … a love supreme … a love supreme …”