by Jonny Meister, Host/Producer of The Blues Show on WXPN

December 9 & 10, 1964

On December 9th and 10th 1964, John Coltrane recorded his signature album “A Love Supreme.” “A Love Supreme” is surely one of the 20th Century’s greatest musical works. It has continued to inspire musicians, critics, and fans since its release in February 1965. “A Love Supreme” is a 4-part suite. Each part has its own character, and each uniquely contributes to a work that Coltrane created as the expression of his spirituality, a celebration of oneness in the context of humankind’s great diversity. Although it is a work in praise of God, it is not based in any one religion. The piece also took jazz as a musical form to new places, and for Coltrane, it formed a bridge from the progressive jazz of the post bop era to the avant-garde music that he would soon embrace, that put the loyalty of many of his fans to the test. The Coltrane Quartet– John Coltrane on sax, McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums– recorded “A Love Supreme” on December 9th, 1964. On December 10th, Coltrane added sax-player Arche Shepp and bassist Art Taylor to his quartet, though he eventually decided not to use the what the sextet recorded that day on the final album.

Music is, by its nature, an abstract form, but rarely has symbolism in music been so clear and so affecting as it is in the first part of “A Love Supreme” which is called “Acknowledgment.” It starts with a Chinese gong, symbolizing some sort of big bang or creation. The piece then goes to some fanfare from Coltrane on the sax, and then life begins, when a blues riff becomes an aestheticized human pulse from the bass of Jimmy Garrison. This “A-Love-Supreme” theme goes through “Acknowledgment,” at one point being taken through a dizzying number of key changes by Coltrane. Somehow it sounds good despite all the changes in key, which symbolize the many ways of expressing the same feelings and beliefs. Coltrane is saying that there is no one way to believe in a supreme being. Toward the end of the first part, Coltrane sings, I think for the first time in his career as a recording artist. He chants “A Love Supreme” repeatedly as the piece reaches its conclusion. Many groups have covered “A Love Supreme” and essentially what they have covered is this first part, “Acknowledgment.” There are, however, three more parts. “Resolution” is a swinging piece of jazz which does offer a bit of tension that Coltrane then resolves… again, there is some symbolic meaning there. The next part, “Pursuance” is a high-speed musical chase; you can feel the pursuance! It is the pursuance of some idea or goal or communication with God. On both “Resolution” and “Pursuance” pianist McCoy Tyner offers sparkling piano solos. The final part of “A Love Supreme” is called “Psalm.” It is an incredible musical prayer, with no real time signature, floating above common daily rhythm, and, like all the other parts, it is very bluesy, though not straight blues. The notes in the piece actually correspond to a poem included in the liner notes by Coltrane. Drummer Elvin Jones provides plenty of thunder from his drum kit, and the sound of hard rain falling from his cymbals, while McCoy Tyner provides the wind from his piano. Clearly there is a big thunderstorm in the piece. Sounds from weather have been part of music for many years, but never have I heard anything so convincing as “Psalm.” Coltrane’s saxophone is singing directly to the Lord through the heavy weather. When people cover parts of “A Love Supreme” they rarely cover “Psalm” unless they do the whole piece.

There have been a few covers of the entire work, including an excellent one by Branford Marsalis and his group, and just recently an interesting version from the Turtle Island String Quartet, but nobody has been able to approach the majesty of the original, not even Coltrane himself. The full suite was only performed in concert once by the Coltrane group, in France in the summer of 1965. The deluxe edition release of the album includes that live performance (Coltrane doesn’t sing on it), and the outtakes from the December 10 session. I never tire of hearing “A Love Supreme.” It is one of the most powerful musical statements ever made.