esrosedotblog

Herewith is presented John Coltrane's charts for his masterwork, A Love Supreme (1964).

You will notice, even if you are not a musician, that there is no notation here. That does not mean there wasn't any. Everyone knew the melody. It was on paper somewhere and in their heads.

You might also be surprised to read that this is a prayer. Many people, including folks who love the piece, assume that it is about someone or some romantic experience.

Not that it couldn't be. Spirituality covers a lot of bases.

The Psalm which could be thought of as the lyrics are here

Coltrane is "playing" them on the record, they are not recited. He is following these words as he plays.

The story of A Love Supreme is covered here along with an NPR story on audio.

In any case, it is one hot cut. A studio album incidentally.

I think maybe some others recorded versions with lyrics. If so, they have to be considered right next to being a rip off. My opinion.

Why would this be coming up now?

Today is Coltrane's 87th birthday. He died in 1967, three years after this recording.

He was a genius. A bright star that burned out.

Labels: music