SACD John Coltrane – A Love Supreme

A Love Supreme as a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions, mastered by Kevin Gray: John Coltrane’s suite in four parts, recorded in 1964 with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones – from “Acknowledgement” to “Psalm” in one uninterrupted flow.

Four movements conceived as one work

A Love Supreme is a suite whose four parts belong together: “Acknowledgement”, “Resolution”, “Pursuance” and “Psalm”. John Coltrane planned the work in September 1964. In Alice Coltrane’s account, he withdrew for several days to the upper floor of the family home in Dix Hills while he developed it – a record conceived from the start as more than a collection of separate numbers, joining a musical progression with a spiritual idea and a text of his own.

The released quartet version was recorded on 9 December 1964 at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in Englewood Cliffs, with Bob Thiele producing. Coltrane worked with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones – the group now celebrated as his classic quartet. Released by Impulse! early in 1965, the original album brought music, a letter to listeners and a devotional poem together; the written word was part of the project from the outset.

A small motif, four distinct voices

Gong and cymbals open the suite before Garrison’s bass sets out the four-note motif that carries “Acknowledgement”. Near the end it becomes the chanted album title, which Coltrane added by overdubbing. Music historian Lewis Porter drew attention to the way the saxophonist moves the motif through all twelve keys: a tiny musical cell becomes the subject of a long exploration and still stays recognisable.

Tyner’s piano and Jones’ drums are far more than scenery around the tenor. Follow the transitions between the movements, then listen to how bass, piano and drums share their tasks within one section. The suite’s unity does not come from every passage sounding alike – it comes from a recurring idea meeting ever new musical challenges.

A psalm spoken through the saxophone

Coltrane’s poem is the key to “Psalm”. The saxophone follows the text syllable by syllable without speaking the words aloud – a procedure Coltrane described as musical narration. Reading poem and performance side by side reveals a different bond between language and instrument than the chant of the first movement: the words shape the music itself.

The following day brought further attempts with Archie Shepp on a second tenor saxophone and Art Davis on a second bass. Coltrane chose the quartet version of the day before for release. Knowing about those alternatives makes the artistic decision all the clearer: this is the concentrated quartet that made A Love Supreme one of the great statements in jazz.

The hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions

CIPJ 77 SA is a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions (Impulse!). According to the publisher, Kevin Gray mastered it. The SACD layer plays on SACD-capable players, the CD layer on any conventional CD player. The disc contains the four parts of the original album on three tracks – “Pursuance” and “Psalm” share the final track.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and ship from Hilden.

Also in other editions: LP (Impulse!) · UHQR (45 RPM) · Ultra Tape

More SACDs by John Coltrane: Giant Steps · My Favorite Things · Coltrane Jazz · Coltrane Plays The Blues · Soultrane

Artist page: All titles by John Coltrane

Musicians

Personnel for this album version are documented. Track-specific participation is shown in the final column.

The quartet version recorded on December 9, 1964. Archie Shepp and Art Davis appear on subsequently issued alternate recordings, not this album programme.