A Love Supreme

John Coltrane在爵士乐界里等於是「神」的代名词。从早期与Miles Davis 合作开始，到后来因宗教信仰的关係，使得他的爵士音乐转朝着自省与不断探索自我灵魂可能性的方向前进，这样转变的过程，不但引领当代其他乐手迈向此目标，对后世整个音乐发展更有着决定性的影响，许多的音乐家都不断提及Coltrane对他们的音乐影响有何其深远。这样一个爵士精神导师，其作品必有后世欣赏的重要性存在。专辑「A Love Supreme」是John Coltrane比较后期的作品，里面收录了三首乐曲，皆出自他的手笔。搭档演出为Coltrane所领军的四重奏---钢琴手 McCoy Tyner，鼓手Elvin Jones和贝斯手Jimmy Garrison，这三位在当时皆是水準极高的乐手，再加上Coltrane的萨克斯风，绝对是完美的四重奏组合。开头〝Acknowledgement〞，乐手们企图营造出幽深微暗的感觉，Coltrane 吹着反覆的音节，Tyner不断地利用钢琴回声製造效果，节奏组则尝试着跟上Coltrane与Tyner的脚步，四人看似演奏着四种不同的曲调，但一面却早已烘托出晦暗的气氛。第二首和第三首是比较典型的Coltrane作品，充满着灵魂的曲风。每个乐手在此都有一段精彩的solo，到乐曲末了再由Coltrane 收尾。整张听下来除了讚嘆Coltrane高超的演奏技巧，赋予爵士乐另一种精神层面外，乐手的默契与搭配度更是超水準之作。虽然整张专辑短短不到 40分鐘，但听眾从Coltrane的演奏中便可明白他所追求的爵士乐精神究竟是什么。由专辑名称「A Love Supreme」当中，我们也看出，他奉献出的爱不只给了聆听者，更献给了他心目中所崇敬的神。A Love Supreme（1964，Impulse!）：这可能是经典四重奏水准最高的一张录音室专辑，同时也是John Coltrane个人演奏生涯中，卖得最好的一张唱片。「A Love Supreme」是John Coltrane的灵性追寻之旅，是他探索宗教与哲学的玄妙体验，化作音符，与世人会面。聆听「A Love Supreme」彷佛进行了一场神圣的宗教仪式崇拜，从「Acknowledgement」、「Resolution」、「Pursuance」到「Psalm」，四个乐章起承转和，一气呵成。也就是在这个时期，John Coltrane更为积极地探索声音的本质，拆解曲子结构，将他长久以来，孜孜不息研读的宗教，宇宙观与神秘主义等，融入音乐之中。 这张专辑在滚石杂志选出的500张历代最强专辑中排名第47位。 Easily one of the most important records ever made, John Coltrane's A Love Supreme was his pinnacle studio outing that at once compiled all of his innovations from his past, spoke of his current deep spirituality, and also gave a glimpse into the next two and a half years (sadly, those would be his last). Recorded at the end of 1964, Trane's classic quartet of Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison stepped into the studio and created one of the most thought-provoking, concise, and technically pleasing albums of their bountiful relationship (not to mention his best-selling to date). From the undulatory (and classic) bassline at the intro to the last breathy notes, Trane is at the peak of his logical yet emotionally varied soloing while the rest of the group is remarkably in tune with Coltrane's spiritual vibe. Composed of four parts, each has a thematic progression leading to an understanding of spirituality through meditation. From the beginning, "Acknowledgement" is the awakening of sorts that trails off to the famous chanting of the theme at the end, which yields to the second act, "Resolution," an amazingly beautiful piece about the fury of dedication to a new path of understanding. "Persuance" is a search for that understanding, and "Psalm" is the enlightenment. Although he is at times aggressive and atonal, this isn't Trane at his most adventurous (pretty much everything recorded from here on out progressively becomes much more free, and live recordings from this period are extremely spirited), but it certainly is his best attempt at the realization of concept -- as the spiritual journey is made amazingly clear. A Love Supreme clocks in at just over 30 minutes, but if it had been any longer it could have turned into a laborious listen. As it stands, just enough is conveyed. It is almost impossible to imagine a world without A Love Supreme having been made, and it is equally impossible to imagine any jazz collection without it.