A Love Supreme

"During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music. I feel this has been granted through His grace. ALL PRAISE TO GOD." - John Coltrane, liner notes.

01 'Acknowledgement'

Rush forth, the gust from the entrance. When the wide doors are swung open, the magnificence of the air that blows out of the door is awe. Bassline is follwed by piano. John Coltrane then blows fabrics into existance, sweating magic from his mind into the random elements of sound, the organisms of notes that live dependant on each other, each one rich and full of human life, each note perfected and shaking with the quiver only a man of spirituality understands. Gods magnificence, in this one form, this one jazz sound, is felt. The pattern emerges, the sax pattern materialises, tested and savoured before they begin to chant it. We chant, I chant together with them; A Love Supreme A Love Supreme A Love Supreme... Uh Luv Supreme. Aallove Supreme. A llah'v Supreme.... A Love SsPREME. A LOVE SUPREME A LOVE SUPREME A LOVE SUPREME

(A Love Supreme. .. ... .)

Don't be scared. Take it! Take this! Thunders of urgency in those beautiful lines of prose as 'Resolution' crashes alive with life, in those Coltrane-words, on that wonderful chorus I felt the urgency in a way that I'd never felt it before. It sounds like the sense, the righteous sense that awaited you, affirmed in sound. It's Jazz, the freedom of Jazz, it's what John Coltrane made for us from the clay of his dreams. This whole body of work is a testament to that one moment in time, those hours in human history where something actually worked, something was pulled off that would forever stand as a testament for the rest of humanity.

Do you have any comprehension of what masters of your craft you have to be to do what John Coltrane and his band-members did here? Let's get it into persective, his own wife, Alice Coltrane, hadn't seen him for 4 days when he came down the stairs with what she described as a look full of joy, peace and tranquility. All he said was "This is the first time I've received all of the music for what I want to record... This is the first time I have everything ready." In his head, he had mapped out this suite, as an artist myself I can only wonder, guess what it was that was in his head. God only knows that there could have been many changes that he had to go through when he actually played and humanised what was going on inside his head, but regardless of that all, he was certainly happy with it. This was, to me, one of the main purposes in this mans life, one of the reasons for him being on this planet, and the same reason he was then taken away so swiftly just a few years later. This album to me, is one of those concrete proofs that we are, certainly each here to make our mark on the planet in some way.

Everything you hear was recorded in three hours, from 9-12. In one night. I can only guess that when you have been graced with such a vision, and the mercy of having brilliant musicians around you willing to do as you say, one night, a few hours is really all you need. I can let it play, and play, and play. I never listen to this all the time, because it's not that kind of record, but when I do, I leave it alone, I am silence, and I let it play. 'Psalm' is drifting along and the experience will soon be over, but before it is I have words, don't ever forget that this was one mans vision of the Divine, of God, Allah, whatever small word you may call The One being that created this infinite Universe. Don't ever forget that. That's what John Coltrane intended this to be, if the quote at the beginning of this review (which appears inside the original album) didn't convince you of that then nothing will. It's stands in history just as a grand Mosque, magnificent Church or Synagogue, this is a testament to the power and unspeakable calling of The One, and that is the only reason, whatever else you may feel about it, that this album will live on as a small part of the infinite.

Y.Misdaq aka Yoshi, 12 May 2004