Customer Reviews

A Love Supreme

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I admit, I was sceptical when this CD was first handed to me. And "yes" I am a firm believer that some material should not be covered - like "Take Five" for example. No variation, improvisation, or arrangement could ever reach the heights of that original. I had put "A Love Supreme" in that category as well ... until I heard Wynton's brother Branford's live recording of "A Love Supreme", released in late 2004. So Wynton was under quite some pressure to deliver ...

And here are my ten Cents: I love this CD. In fact, I am listening to it over and over again, always discovering new nuances in Marsalis' smart big band arrangements. He leaves enough space for each musician - including himself - to show their artistic talents while never losing the cohesiveness needed to make this production work. It's a treat for the jazz-loving ear. Appropriately challenging, yet flowing and fresh. There is an Ellingtonian grandeur to the recording and Wynton Marsalis' classcial music training certainly came in handy here. Incidentally, "A Love Supreme" was produced by yet another member of the Marsalis family, brother Delfeayo.

I suppose it's natural to compare this release with the original classic (which, by the way, you should listen to first).

The word that hits me when listening to this release is "technical". It sounds like there must be 100 horns where the original was, what, 1? Some parts seem overly cute... but it's not like it's some insult to the original. One thing I can't stand is when an artist remakes a piece of music (even their own) and it sounds the SAME. In those cases, the duplicate is implying that they are better. This version is different. It has a big band sound.

Like all of the Wynton Marsalis projects, the audio quality in this release is unmatched.

So, I'd recommend this release as a supplement. Don't think of it as the new kids trying to "one up" Trane and I think you can enjoy it better.

The upshot is that this orchestration, while nice enough, doesn't do anything good to the original piece (and I heard it live as well). If you're a fan of the original, I suggest you buy the digitally remastered version of ALS which includes a live version on the second CD.

Unless you're a fan of orchestration from quartet to big band (and this is done far more frequently in the classical world), or have money to burn, I'd avoid this CD.

This CD was most enjoyable because they are big and well known. The second reason is because I have NEVER have heard Jazz as an Orchestra. A HIGHLY recommended CD to buy.

If you are a jazz aficionado, then you probably should avoid this CD. Nothing can compete with the 1964 classic Coltrane original recording. However, this big band orchestration is very approachable for non experts. Everything is very professional and the musicians are quite frankly astoundingly good, particularly the young rhythm section. I heard them live in Ann Arbor last night at a packed Hill Auditorium and the audience seemed extremely satisfied with the product. If you're a purist, stay away; otherwise you may be very happy indeed.

Okay, it's not John Coltrane, it most definitely sounds like a Wynton Marsalis album. A lot of his trademark style in arranging and playing is evident throughout... perhaps a little too evident. But it's a delightful album nonetheless and loads of fun to listen to. Not as adventurous and interesting perhaps as the original, but still worth a spin. Wynton gets the same fabulous performances out of his group as he always does, and the music... well, what can you say... It's "A Love Supreme"... the music is supreme!

Buyers need to be warned that this is Marsalis' own version of A Love Supreme which he had liberally rewritten and given much big band flavor. Others might disagree, but I think this is a total abomination of one of the finest jazz albums ever created. I heard this mess live at Lincoln Center. I could tell by the audience reaction that they were displeased, no booing but near dead silence. Elvin Jones was in the audience that night, I wanted to ask him if he knew ahead of time what Marsalis had done. I had heard a very fine rendition of A Love Supreme the prior year at Carnegie Hall performed by the now-defunct Carnegie Hall jazz band. They did an amazing job retaining the original characteristics without doing a note-by-note copy.

This is for sure not Coltrane, yet Wynton's style and grace when arranged in big band format takes A Love Supreme to places it was not able to go before. I strongly recommend it.

As much as I love Wynton AND the LCJO, this is a total miss. They play Coltrane's suite as if it was written in the 1920's, and it is just lame. Creative arrangements as one would expect from W.M., but I feel they do not suit the music. Perhaps if this was done by someone like David Murray and his big band...?

Nah, forget it. John Coltrane delivered the ultimate take in 1964.

John Coltrane was villified most of his creative life for playing at the edge of a world he was helping to redefine. Wynton and the LCJO are in effect the death of creative musicians like Coltrane, or most of the truly creative Jazz scene for that matter. Wynton is establishing himself as "the face of Jazz". A market oriented phenomenon which freezes some of the elements making Jazz without ever capturing the true essence of the music. By telling us (and make no mistake, these guys do...): "this is what Jazz is" and trying to re-appropriate themselves the music of Jazz giants such as John Coltrane who, if he were alive, would not be given the time of day by these folks, Wynton and his posses are raping what is true and beautiful in this music.
The recording, since I must talk about it, features a set of crafty yet discomboluted arrangements merely mimicking what Coltrane was, mostly empty of content, setting in motions soloists who sound more like "Jazz puppets" than anything remotely close to what Coltrane was striving for (notable exception: Ted Nash !).
You do NOT need this record. Wynton and the LCJO does NOT need your money; spend it on musicians who put their life and their art on the edge, the way Coltrane did.