John Coltrane - A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle CD

CD. I cracked the seal on one of these a couple of weeks back with very little expectations. I've got a reasonable chunk of Coltrane live recordings from around this area, what could this possibly offer? My mind was blown on that first listen, then I had a couple of days off due to a sniffle (and taking proper Covid testing precautions).

I couldn't stop thinking about 'A Love Supreme Live In Seattle' and made the major mistake of reading The Guardian and YouTube comments on reviews/previews of said release. I guess some people like Jazz for different reasons to me but I feel confident in saying that naysayers on this particularly incredible recording like Jazz for what could be described as "boring loser" reasons.

This recording documents a pivot point in Coltrane & co.'s development. Recorded a year or so on from the release of the studio album 'A Love Supreme' and pushing the album's material into new shapes. Avant-garde but full of universal humanistic energy that I would consider accessible if we rid the world of a some up tight baggage.

The performances and expanded line-up are obviously 100% fire (Pharoah Sanders is now in the group), but I think an understated thing that pushes this recording into the essential pile is the unique quality of the recording. I'm not talking about tedious fidelity discourse, but what's exposed by this simplistic two-microphone in-house tape record. The drums sound fkn' crazy!!!
- Nic (Repressed Records)