"In the suite's most startling moment, Coltrane removes the saxaphone from his lips and leans close to the microphone, intoning the almost doleful signature chant. As an accented piano chord clearly cues the vocal section, one can hear that Coltrane began chanting off-mike; a barely audible 'supreme' makes itself known."
The four-note opening bassline eventually gets taken up by the tenor sax which, in turn, becomes Coltrane own voice chanting the mantra. This piece is sublime, and I'll never tire of it.
"A Love Supreme" is a deeply spiritual and religious album, but I reckon the quartet's musical interplay says as much about life on earth--human striving, community, and devotion--as it does about the divine.
Liner notes excerpt:
"In the suite's most startling moment, Coltrane removes the saxaphone from his lips and leans close to the microphone, intoning the almost doleful signature chant. As an accented piano chord clearly cues the vocal section, one can hear that Coltrane began chanting off-mike; a barely audible 'supreme' makes itself known."
The four-note opening bassline eventually gets taken up by the tenor sax which, in turn, becomes Coltrane own voice chanting the mantra. This piece is sublime, and I'll never tire of it.
"A Love Supreme" is a deeply spiritual and religious album, but I reckon the quartet's musical interplay says as much about life on earth--human striving, community, and devotion--as it does about the divine.