#0053: John Coltrane - A Love Supreme [****]

This is a post-bop, modal jazz album.  You either get it or you don't.  There will be many among you who would be tortured by this 33 minutes of saxophone, piano, bass and drums.  If it transpires that those people are the same ones that find Bob Dylan soothing and insightful then I will not be surprised.  This is about as far in the other direction as it gets.  

There are 10s of notes jockeying for position at the forefront of your attention at every instant.  It spirals and darts and weaves and interweaves.  It drops away suddenly into a drum or a bass solo and returns thrashing like a crocodile in a vat of acid.  

For the most part, however, it is not my bag.  It's too vague and repetitive for my taste and the so-called 'Trane is not inspirational to me, an aspirational saxophonist.  Well, that's not strictly true.  The opening of part 2 of this 4 part concept (Resolution) has a lovely main melody (or "head" as the jazzers call it) and as he plays it, I can hear purity, texture and intonation that I would sell a kidney to have.  It is only when he goes into one that he loses me with that esoteric squawking and the seemingly random interval jumping bringing me to picture a pissed vampire going round a crazy golf course.  At noon.

Haven't mentioned the piano player yet though have I?  Holy Mother Of Fuck.  His name is McCoy Tyner and I have never heard anybody as fast or as precise.  That's not much of a yardstick, I realise but these 4 stars are given mainly because I will be returning to this album mostly just to listen to his playing.  It is very rare that I listen to a piano player and with jaw already dropped have to shout at the stereo to fuck off.  

I used to have a running joke with my friends that when I was really impressed with somebody I would say, "if I ever meet him I'm gonna smack him in the face".

McCoy Tyner is still alive, y'know.  He might still have time to make .pd.'s shiner list.