A rare private recording of John Coltrane playing his iconic work A Love Supreme is getting released for the first time. A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle arrives October 8 (via Impulse!/UMe). The set was captured by saxophonist and educator Joe Brazil in 1965 on the final night of Coltrane’s weeklong stint at the Penthouse in Seattle. The lineup featured legendary musicians Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Garrison, and more.
John Coltrane's A Love Supreme is one of the most compelling, spiritual testimonies in the history of jazz. The four-part suite, originally issued in 1965, can't be divorced from its cultural moment – based on the cadences of Bible psalms and the tenor saxman's own free verse, the album reflects the jazz world's growing embrace of Eastern ideas as well as the tumult of the American black-consciousness movement. ~ Rolling Stone Magazine
For many a jazz fan John Coltrane's A Love Supreme is their personal desert island pick, the one recording they would not hesitate to live their days out listening to. Recorded on December 9, 1964, the session has endured as a document of the saxophonist's faith, as it was the proclamation of his rebirth from the jazz life of alcohol and substance abuse.
One of the most important records ever made, John Coltrane's A Love Supreme was his pinnacle studio outing, that at once compiled all of the innovations from his past, spoke to the current of deep spirituality that liberated him from addictions to drugs and alcohol, and glimpsed at the future innovations of his final two and a half years. Recorded over two days in December 1964, Trane's classic quartet–Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison– stepped into the studio and created one of the most the most thought-provoking, concise, and technically pleasing albums of their bountiful relationship. From the undulatory (and classic) bassline at the intro to the last breathy notes, Trane is at the peak of his logical and emotionally varied soloing, while the rest of the group is completely atttuned to his spiritual vibe.
To my knowledge, this is the only live recording of Coltrane's masterpiece "A Love Supreme"...