Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece., October 18, 2005
Arguably the best album John Coltrane ever recorded and consistently mentioned as the greatest album in jazz, "A Love Supreme" lives up to everything that it is discussed as.
Coltrane was riding an artistic high-- enormously successful thanks to 1960's "My Favorite Things", he had quite a bit more latitude than many musicians, a producer who would support his every experiment in Bob Thiele, and a band willing to go wherever he needed (pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones) who he'd developed a rapport with over three years of constantly working together. He'd just recorded the stunning "Crescent" several months earlier and entered the studio in December to record this suite.
The piece, as indicated by the liner notes Coltrane penned, is spiritually informed, a prayer offered to God. The music itself is based on relatively traditional structures, but Coltrane manages to juggle a number of influences and sounds-- shades of Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler all run through it. The suite is broken in four movements-- "Acknowledgement" is patient and building, revolving around a four-note bass motif-- Trane is exploratory and yearning. After a brief bass solo, this moves into the frantic "Resolution", where Coltrane rails against his theme, turns things over to a oddly meditative yet equally frantic Tyner, and then solos himself in Monkish fashion-- extrapolating off his theme and exploring the sort of spiritual ecstacy that he heard in Ayler. A brief drum solo signals the transition to "Pursuance"-- Jones is full of energy and explosiveness and this sustains throughout the piece, Coltrane's extended solo is nothing short of stunning, full of fire and energy before suddenly taming down and surrendering to Jones briefly then an astonishing solo by Garrison. Finally, the long exhale after the tension-- "Psalm", finds Coltrane meditative, almost wistful, and informed with a sense of optimistic melancholy.
When it's all done, it's an experience. Many listeners find this the first truly unlistenable Coltrane album-- too much for its own good, but it certainly leaves its mark. My assessment is that the album is nothing short of stunning.
|
|
|
113 of 122 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Love Supreme: A Musical Revelation, September 17, 2003
In a time when jazz was becoming less popular, this four-part masterpiece recorded in 1964, is John Coltrane's attempt to give thanks to God. In doing so, and regardless of your religious beliefs, he delivers a performance in the company of McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums) that makes it clear what he meant when he said in 1966 he planned "to become a saint" in response to the question about his plans for the next decade. Sadly, he died of cancer not too long after that statement, but he left a legacy of work that -like this album- are testimony of what an inspired soul can let flow and give to others. Today, almost forty years after its original release, Coltrane's memory is alive and kicking and his timeless work continues to inspire musicians of all genres across the world. In my journey of discovery of this beautiful jazz music, this album has turned out to be a true musical revelation and I want to share it with you too.
|
|
|
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
?!*%&*!$%!&!*!, February 18, 2005
How did a human being do this?! So otherworldy and yet so tightly constructed and economical. So furious and atonal and yet so gorgeous. Coltrane must be an alien or an angel or a chemical experiment gone out of control. You heard it here first. Oh yeah, his drummer is pretty out of this world too.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
~ Paul Desmond
~ John Coltrane
~ Miles Davis
~ Charles Mingus
~ Cannonball Adderley
by John Coltrane 
