Volumes have been written about John Coltrane's religious inspired masterpiece A Love Supreme.
Even more amazing how many records this actually sold, this is certainly not a smooth jazz record. If someone new to jazz asks where to start with John Coltrane, A Love Supreme would NOT be it. Yet it is widely considered the second or third greatest recording in jazz history, right behind Miles Davis' 1959 masterpiece Kind of Blue.
I remember the first time I was exposed to this glorious music, it was the first movement "Acknowledgement" and it was on the Ken Burns Jazz John Coltrane Sampler, I had been exposed to Miles Davis earlier in mid 90's.
I did not develop a serious love for the jazz until after that year 2000 Burns documentary. As flawed as Burns' warped view of jazz was, I do owe him a debt for setting up a preamble of jazz history for me. I had to go out and find the avant-garde and jazz rock on my own.
After that Burn's documentary I was hooked, and have devoured the music inside and out, almost all styles and genres, with nothing taboo for me, a shame Burns didn't do a better job including all of the jazz styles after 1960.
I am fortunate, early on I acquired the taste for free jazz and the avant-garde, A Love Supreme skirts the boundaries of this style to virgin ears, but to seasoned ears, it's an earnest and melodic piece that can inspire you.
That Ken Burns Coltrane sampler really is heck of a CD, "Chaisin' the Trane is on there too, from the Live Village Vanguard album. I wore that disc out that first few months. In fact they did a killer job on most of those samplers.
Some newbies might get turned off at the intonation on A Love Supreme, and a few times his note embellishments are over blown, this might make a swing era aficionado cringe. If you dig it, you might be ready for Free Jazz in general.
A love Supreme begins with the now famous "ringing gong shot" then saxophone fan fare, then settles into a basic 4 note modal bass groove, a love su preme, a love su preme, etc... then Trane himself recites the mantra "A Love Supreme".
"Resolution," which is my favorite track, starts with a Jimmy Garrison setting the tone, then Coltrane explodes into the track, I still get the same thrill each time hearing the startling way Coltrane enters Resolution. The soloing on Resolution reminds me of the soloing on Coltrane's 1960 masterpiece Giant Steps, especially tracks like "Cousin Mary" and Mr.P.C.
The third movement, "Pursuance" starts with a small drum solo from Elvin Jones, and then a pretty spirited ride from the quartet. Then Jimmy Garrison offers a nice varied bass solo leading up to the final movement of the suite."Psalm" is a recitation by Trane of a wordless poem he wrote to honor God.
When you consider that by 1970, A Love Supreme had sold more than 500,000 copies, about 20 times the usual total for a Coltrane album, speaks awfully loud for what this album meant to the general public.
Even more amazing to me about that high sales total, this music is not like Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, which is an easy listening sort of a modern jazz album. I mean
A Love Supreme is not easy listening at all, it is challenging, and demands your attention, again, not easily understood for some one not used to atonal sounds.
I think the length of the suite is perfect, you never feel it's too long or monotonous, it really is the perfect modern jazz album.
A Love Supreme sold 500,000 records by 1970. An album that skirts the edges of free jazz, and certainly is not as easy to digest,
The album has long since gained multi platinum status, if you ever wondered about the supernatural element of the music, the fact that an album so non commercial could sell this well, seems most astounding to me, surely an act of God.
To say A Love Supreme belongs in every modern jazz collection is an obvious understatement.
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