Record Reviews

JOHN COLTRANE ~ A LOVE SUPREME (DELUXE EDITION) IMPULSE! 589945 (Barcode: 731458994527) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1954 Released: 2002 Legendary John ColtraneFind albums by this artist album, which is considered as one of the most beautiful and most important jazz albums of all times. It reflects Coltrane`s deep interest in Eastern beliefs and the mantra like themes go right deep into the soul of the listener. The additional material includes never previously released alternate takes and a live version of the music recorded in 1965 at the Antibes Jazz Festival. An absolute must to any jazz fan and essentially to any music lover.

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JOHN COLTRANE ~ A LOVE SUPREME: LIVE IN SEATTLE IMPULSE! 602438499977 (Barcode: 602438499977) ~ USA ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 1965 Released: 2021 This is an archival album by iconic American Jazz saxophonist / composer / bandleader / visionary John ColtraneFind albums by this artist, captured live on October 2, 1965 at the Penthouse Jazz club in Seattle with his septet, which also includes saxophonists Pharoah SandersFind albums by this artist and Carlos WardFind albums by this artist, pianist McCoy TynerFind albums by this artist, bassists Jimmy GarrisonFind albums by this artist and Donald GarrettFind albums by this artist and drummer Elvin JonesFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, the four-part “A Love Supreme” suite and four interludes. The music was recorded informally by local Seattle saxophonist and educator Joe BrazilFind albums by this artist and the tapes were in his private collection for many years, until they were discovered in 2013 but released only eight years later. The recording is pretty rough and primitive, using just two microphones directly plugged into the tape recorder, resulting in a highly unbalanced sound mix with the drums dominating most of the music. Coltrane very rarely performed the suite live after it was recorded in the studio in December of 1964, and there was only one available live recording of it before these tapes were discovered. This is not really surprising considering Coltrane’s very special relation to the suite, which he considered highly spiritual. The decision to perform it on the last day of the Seattle club residence was most probably entirely spontaneous, but the musicians in Coltrane’s septet were obviously not taken aback by that decision and played along as if it was a completely natural one. The music is, despite the difficulty to be able to hear it properly, absolutely stunning, demonstrating and peak of Coltrane’s Free Jazz period, just before he entered the final “wall of sound” period. It is not difficult to distinguish between Coltrane’s and Sanders’ solos of course, as their approach was quite different. Tyner, whenever heard, plays Godly, as usual, with his staccato bombardment of the keyboard, and yet beautifully melodically at all times. The double bass lineup allows the rhythm section to expand its role and using the bow, as well as solo extensively during the Interludes and Jones is what he is, masterly keeping time and playing around the time all at once. Overall, this is a superb document of American Free Jazz at its absolute peak, as well as another “missing link” in the seemingly endless Coltrane discography, which is one of the most important one-man manifestations of American Jazz ever. The bad sound balance gets all forgotten when the music lashes at the listener’s ears, and every split second of the music is an incredible evidence of Genius incarnate.

Updated: 08/07/2024Posted: 28/02/2022

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JOHN COLTRANE ~ A LOVE SUPREME: THE COMPLETE MASTERS (SUPER DELUXE EDITION) IMPULSE! 602547489470 (Barcode: 602547489470) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1964 - 1965 Released: 2015 This is the singular most important piece of music ever recorded. Everything else I or anybody else has to say about it is of secondary importance to be honest, so I´ll just stick to the facts and a few personal reflections. This version of the "A Love SupremeFind albums with this title" album is the second expansion of the original album released in 1965, which featured four tracks (called "Acknowledgment", "Resolution", "Pursuance" and "Psalm") recorded on December 9, 1964 by the legendary quartet led by American saxophonist / composer John ColtraneFind albums by this artist, which also included pianist McCoy TynerFind albums by this artist, bassist Jimmy GarrisonFind albums by this artist and drummer Elvin JonesFind albums by this artist. The 2002 Deluxe Edition added to the original album on the first CD a second CD comprising of "A Love Supreme" recorded live at Festival Mondial du Jazz Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, France on July 26, 1965, and also a couple of alternate takes from the quartet session recorded on December 9, 1964 and a couple of alternate takes from the sextet session with saxophonist Archie SheppFind albums by this artist and second bassist Art DavisFind albums by this artist, recorded on December 10, 1964, which attempted to record the same music but resulted in recording only six takes of "Acknowledgment". This 2015 Super Deluxe Edition is expanded to three CDs and includes in addition to all the tracks of the Deluxe Edition nine previously unreleased alternate takes, five of which originate from the quartet session and four from the sextet session. It also includes an informative little book with many photographs and handwritten remarks and musical notation by Coltrane, which is highly educational. God only knows if more recordings connected to these sessions will pop up in the future; experienced record collectors know very well to treat the word "complete" with extreme caution and disbelieve. In the meantime we are of course grateful to have access to this Godly music and enjoy it to the max. I have been listening to this music continuously from the day it was released, which is now over forty years in the past. I grew up with it, lived with it and now am getting old with it and never for a moment could I imagine it to be absent from the soundtrack of my life. In retrospect this music encompasses everything I consider essential in music: it has great melodies, it is mesmerizing from start to finish, it includes the entire Jazz tradition, from Ragtime to Free, it connects with Music from other Cultures, it is deeply spiritual and intellectual at the same time, and of course it is absolutely super-humanly performed. I often say that all music created after Coltrane, as good as it might be, and it often is insanely good, never really expanded the boundaries of music again. Coltrane was the Messenger, and he simply said it all. This does not mean of course that new music shouldn´t be made; of course not, it simply means that there is a scale of reference, which we can always apply to music, in order to properly appreciate and evaluate it. Side Note: Today is Valentine´s Day, so what could be more appropriate than "A Love Supreme"! But seriously, this is the 5,000th album review that I write for the "Soundtrack Of My Life" site, a number which probably does mean very little to most people but it encapsulates years of writing about music, an activity I love to be involved with more than anything else. Hopefully some people are also reading this…

Updated: 20/05/2018Posted: 14/02/2016

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BRANFORD MARSALIS ~ A LOVE SUPREME OKEH 888750690326 (Barcode: 888750690326) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2003 Released: 2015 This is a live recording by the American saxophonist / composer Branford MarsalisFind albums by this artist and his quartet, which also includes pianist Joey CalderazzoFind albums by this artist, bassist Eric RevisFind albums by this artist and drummer Jeff WattsFind albums by this artist. The quartet performs the material originally recorded by the John ColtraneFind albums by this artist quartet entitled "A Love SupremeFind albums with this title", which in time achieved legendary status and is universally accepted as one of the very finest and most influential Jazz albums ever recorded. The album includes both the audio and video recording of a concert, which took place in Amsterdam in 2003, twelve years before it was released. The video also includes interviews with many musicians, including Coltrane´s wife Alice ColtraneFind albums by this artist and other bonus footage. Sometimes I am utterly speechless and the only thing to do is spread one´s arms and take a long look at the sky. Why on earth would anybody touch a sacred, universally admired piece of human Genius and mess with it is beyond me, especially a musician of the status of Branford Marsalis. What was he trying to do; to imitate, to improve, to re-think, to re-construct, to de-construct Coltrane´s music? Sadly none of the above is even remotely close to what is happening on this album, since actually nothing is happening. Four musicians play Coltrane´s music, without feeling, without passion, without respect… This album is an act of profanity as far as Coltrane´s memory is concerned, and an insult to Jazz. In the forty years of Jazz creativity that passed between the time Coltrane recorded this immortal music and the time Marsalis has his way with it were brutally dumped into the waste bin of Culture, as this album not only does not offer anything innovative about Coltrane´s music but trivializes it by pretentiously copying it. Perhaps this album is an epitome of American Jazz, which has been almost completely brain dead since Coltrane´s death and never managed to produce another Prophet of his magnitude. Many have tried, Marsalis among them, but none got even close. Some things are best left alone, and this album is a classic example of what happens when they are not. If you love, cherish and admire "A Love Supreme", please do not listen to this album!

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