Released in February 1965, John Coltrane's A Love Supreme turns 50 this month. To celebrate this landmark recording, we play the album in its entirety. In the remaining time, we follow Coltrane's classic quartet through to its end in the fall of 1965.
John Coltrane "classic" quartet:
John Coltrane – saxophone (soprano, tenor)
Jimmy Garrison – double bass
Elvin Jones – drums
McCoy Tyner – piano
| A Love Supreme was recorded in December 1965, and released in February of the following year. Often selected by critics as one of the greatest jazz albums of all time, this album is a launching point from hard bop into the world of free jazz. This is true for both listeners and for Coltrane himself -- in the next few months, his style would change considerably.
As a side note, this is also one of the highest selling jazz albums of all time, selling over 500,000 copies according to the RIAA. |
| Part I: Acknowledgement John Coltrane - A Love Supreme - Impulse! |
| Part 2: Resolution John Coltrane - A Love Supreme - Impulse! |
| Part 3: Pursuance John Coltrane - A Love Supreme - Impulse! |
| Part 4: Psalm John Coltrane - A Love Supreme - Impulse! |
| John Coltrane Quartet Plays was recorded between February and May 1965, and released in the same year. |
| Nature Boy John Coltrane - John Coltrane Quartet Plays - Impulse! |
| Recorded May 26 and June 10 1965, Transition was posthumously released in July 1970. As the title suggests, we hear the quartet moving towards the freer sounds of Sun Ship. |
| Transition John Coltrane - Transition - Impulse! |
| Kulu Sé Mama features tracks by the quartet, as well as tracks by larger groups that include Pharoah Sanders, Donald Gartett, Frank Butler, and Juno Lewis. The quartet pieces were recorded Jun 10 & 16, 1965 and the album was released in early 1967. |
| Welcome John Coltrane - Kulu Sé Mama - Impulse! |
| Another posthumous release, Sun Ship was recorded on August 26, 1965 and released in 1971. |
| Dearly Beloved John Coltrane - Sun Ship - Impulse! |
| Sun Ship John Coltrane - Sun SHip - Impulse! |
| Recorded September 2, 1965 First Meditations (for Quartet) did not see release until 1977. The suite was recorded by a larger group two months later and this large group version was released in 1966. Aside from a couple of private recordings, this is the final recording made by the classic quartet. Beautiful. |
| Love John Coltrane - First Meditations (for Quartet) - Impulse! |
| Joy John Coltrane - First Meditations (for Quartet) - Impulse! |
| In the remaining moments of the show, we sample from the only "live" performance of A Love Supreme. This was recorded on July 26, 1965 at the Antibes Jazz Festival in Juan-Les-Pins, France. |
| Introduction John Coltrane - A Love Supreme Deluxe Edition - Impulse! |
| Part I: Acknowledgement John Coltrane - A Love Supreme Deluxe Edition - Impulse! |
| Part 2: Resolution John Coltrane - A Love Supreme Deluxe Edition - Impulse! |
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Hi Alnoor, Really enjoying this tribute to A Love Supreme! Can't believe it is 50! Time flies!
9:28 PM, February 18th, 2015