«A Love Supreme» John Coltrane (English Version)

A Love Supreme
Artist: John Coltrane
Year: 1964
Impulse!
Score: 9.8

«During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At the time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music. I feel this has been granted through His grace.

All praise to God.»

John Coltrane – December, 1964

After a spiritual search during his time in rehabilitation from heroin addiction, A Love Supreme was conceived during John Coltrane’s most popular and stable years. By 1970 this record would make him earn a gold record, having reached a million copies distributed around the world but most importantly, glorifying Coltrane as one the most influential Jazz musician of his generation and the ones to follow.

Until this day, A Love Supreme is considered a masterpiece form this prodigious sax player form North Carolina, that without any mayor hype in its publicity came to be Coltrane’s most honest work with a timeless appeal.

“Aknowledgment” starts this suite that is quickly distinguished by its colorful Latin rhythm on the drums of Elvin Jones, similar to samba. No explanation is needed to notice that this track is full of vigor from beginning to end, where Coltrane shines in his ability to jump from scale to scale throughout the song without disregarding his improvisation.

Close to the mid-section of the track, the quartet creates an ascending sound like walking up steps of the scale towards the sax just ripping in this intense moment of tension that makes the listener hold its breath while Coltrane does just the opposite.

Towards the end, the phrasing returns to the theme of “a love supreme” followed by the musicians chanting this very sentence, to then keeping silence and allowing the bass to point out the ending while building a bridge to begin the next act.

Immediately the sax opens the trakc at par with an elaborated polyrhythm on drums which still holds up today as a masterful execution from Elvin Jones in “Resolution”

McCoy Tyner also doesn’t just stands by, making a fierce appearance on the piano adding a lot of color and complexity to this track. Both dexterity and speed, Tyner allows himself join the rampant energy brought to the room. Coltrane on the other hand uses silence as his best ally during his improvisation to par with the theme of resolution. At all times as listener I’m wondering where is this all going to? To triumphantly return to the initial phrasing.

“Pursuance” begins with an introductory drums solo followed by a fluid double swing on which the quartet puts all the cards on the table.

Promptly my ear catches up the precise and pristine bass of Jimmy Garrison that never sets back before the monstrous execution of Coltrane, well known for his vast imagination and prodigiousness to make free and modal jazz.

Concluding in a gut-busting drum solo, it continues to the bass standing alone with an eerie and expansive echo stretching the track beyond the 10 minute mark.

“Psalm” returns to being calm and composed in order to close the album in a more serious note, with a lot of presence and almost ceremonial sense, but above all else, as a solemn hymn.

It seems that in order to bring it all to an end, it was necessary for Coltrane to take a moment to narrate his path of redemption and gratefulness to the listener, and to my opinion he achieves this in a most devoted sound from his musicians in a sense of procession.