A love Supreme - John Coltrane

by David Fortier

John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme was recorded in one session on December 9, 1964, and released in January 1965. In only one session the late saxophonist would accomplish what many would consider to be his magnum opus. He would die only two years later at the age of 40, but this album, along with the rest of his work, would go on to inspire countless other artists.

The album is essentially a four part suite: Part I: Acknowledgement, part II: Resolution, part III: Pursuance and part IV: Psalm. You can imagine just by how the movements are named that - despite the lack of lyrics other than, “A Love Supreme” in the first part - religion is the most important theme. Coltrane was in fact a very religious person and wanted to express this as much as he could with his music especially with A Love Supreme.

In the first part, we are introduced to the four note theme of the album that is eventually sung as “A love supreme” and is continuously played in variations by Coltrane on the tenor saxophone throughout the entirety of the project. The theme is of course very catchy and after listening to the album I always find myself singing, “A love Supreme, A Love Supreme, A Love Supreme…”

Although the suite is has a heavy religious significance to it and I am not a religious person, I still feel a very emotional connection to the album. The band’s technical ability is displayed through the very driving parts of the album and is contrasted by it’s very sensitive and sentimental moments.

A Love Supreme is very a modal jazz album in that it conveys multiple emotions through the same musical theme. At the same time, listening to it can be a very spiritual and mystic experience and despite the fact that that mysticism doesn't get to me, I still feel the music and that is why A Love Supreme is one of my all time favorite jazz albums and one of the greatest of all time.