The influence of the album is huge not only among Jazz fanatics but religious ones too. After Coltrane's death, congregants at the Yardbird Temple, in San Francisco, began worshipping Coltrane as God incarnate. Incidentally the Temple was named for Charlie 'Bird' Parker, whom they equated to John the Baptist. The "Coltrane church", incorporates Coltrane's music and his lyrics as prayers in its liturgy. Although sadly they've had to reduce Coltrane from God to a saint to get recognition by the African Orthodox Church which governs it. I'm not sure if I were a God that I'd be happy about being demoted by a committee. I mean who in Zeus' name do this humans think they are?
A LOVE SUPREME is a deeply spiritual album. It's a suite of four parts: 'Acknowledgement', 'Resolution', 'Pursuance', and 'Psalm.' For Coltrane the album represents a personal struggle for purity physically and in his art. Pushing his creativity to its limits and his desire to stay clean from his heroin addiction. He's also said to be expressing gratitude for his God given talents.
It melds the hard bop style with the free jazz approach he adopted on his later recordings, but even for a Trane novice like me it's an easy album become addicted to. It's hypnotic.
Early in 'Acknowledgement' once the opening gong has quietened Coltrane's early soft solo has quietened we're introduced to the 4 note motif that over the course of the next thirty minutes will repeat, evolve and expand. We first hear it from Jimmy Garrison's double bass, but it's there throughout played by all three other musicians, Coltrane on Sax, McCoy Tyler on piano and broadly speaking by Elvin Jones on drums. The four notes a the rhythm equating the syllables of "a love supreme", and by the end of the first part the music has evolved into the four actual words - we hear Coltrane's deep voice intoning them over and over like a religious mantra. Deep, warm, calm but authoritative it's the voice of God we all imagine.
From here on in proceedings loosen up and we're treated to some extraordinary solos, in particular those by Jones and Tyler at the beginning of 'Pursuance'. Whilst it's Coltrane's name on the cover and undoubtedly the piece is his composition, all four musicians get plenty of room to showcase their extraordinary talents.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
RESOLUTION
PURSUANCE
PSALM
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