A one-session masterpiece, Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ demands the listener accompany the tenor front-man and his illustrious quartet on a profound, meditative jazz odyssey. From the clarion-call opening built on superimposed perfect fourths over shimmering percussion, the album unfolds across four portentous tracks, with ‘Acknowledgement’ launching into a boisterous swing motif with instantly-recognisable chords from pianist McCoy Tyner.
‘Resolution’ bustles in after a pizzicato bass opening solo from Jimmy Garrison, unleashing a skirling Coltrane improvisation.
‘Pursuance,’ kicks off with a rollicking drum solo with Roy Haynes moving dextrously round the kit, before launching into a brisk, robust swing.
The closing track, ‘Psalm,’ starts with a meditative cadenza revelling in a quasi-religiosity, with drums rumbinling ominously in repsonse to Coltrane’s expressive eulogy; the piano hovers in colourful harmonic clouds behind a ruminating tenor sax. A legendary 1965 release on Impulse! records, the album’s iconic status cannot be understated; a modal masterpiece with an urgent message that still resonates over half a century later and sounds just as ground-breaking now as it must have then. Recommended.
Modern Music Dan –
A one-session masterpiece, Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ demands the listener accompany the tenor front-man and his illustrious quartet on a profound, meditative jazz odyssey. From the clarion-call opening built on superimposed perfect fourths over shimmering percussion, the album unfolds across four portentous tracks, with ‘Acknowledgement’ launching into a boisterous swing motif with instantly-recognisable chords from pianist McCoy Tyner.
‘Resolution’ bustles in after a pizzicato bass opening solo from Jimmy Garrison, unleashing a skirling Coltrane improvisation.
‘Pursuance,’ kicks off with a rollicking drum solo with Roy Haynes moving dextrously round the kit, before launching into a brisk, robust swing.
The closing track, ‘Psalm,’ starts with a meditative cadenza revelling in a quasi-religiosity, with drums rumbinling ominously in repsonse to Coltrane’s expressive eulogy; the piano hovers in colourful harmonic clouds behind a ruminating tenor sax. A legendary 1965 release on Impulse! records, the album’s iconic status cannot be understated; a modal masterpiece with an urgent message that still resonates over half a century later and sounds just as ground-breaking now as it must have then. Recommended.