Paul De Barros über die neue Coltrane-Aufnahme aus Seattle:
Thanks to two Seattle saxophonists — the late Joe Brazil, who recorded the Penthouse show, and Steve Griggs, who discovered the tapes 50 years later — a recording of that performance has come to light. On Oct. 8, Impulse! Records will release “A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle,” one of only two known live recordings of Coltrane’s magnificent, spiritually inspired suite. (The other was made in Antibes, France.)
More than a historical find, the new recording is an avant-garde gem that broadens our understanding of an iconic work. It features four new interludes as well as solos by recently added ensemble members Pharoah Sanders (saxophone) and Donald Rafael Garrett (bass), plus — of special historical interest for Seattleites — alto saxophonist Carlos Ward, who sat in. Wilder, more open and more varied than the comparatively sedate original recording, the Penthouse version of “A Love Supreme” also runs more than twice as long.
It is not for the faint of heart. In 1965, Coltrane’s classic quartet with McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums) had begun to add new players and explore “free jazz,” which included shrieks, dissonant cries, braying multiphonics (simultaneous notes on a horn), diffuse rhythmic patterns and programs that sometimes went for hours.
“The set I saw seemed almost unbearably long,” recalls drummer Jon Keliehor, a member of the Frantics, a Seattle blues-rock band of the era. “I felt like I could easily have entered some sort of trancelike state.”
Indeed, transcendence was the aim. “A Love Supreme” is Coltrane’s four-part pilgrim’s progress — “Acknowledgment,” “Resolution,” “Pursuance” and “Psalm” — which register his discovery and acceptance of faith (and gratitude for the strength to be able to give up drugs). In Seattle, the four new interludes include a marvelously sinuous bass duet; a smacking solo by Jones with some splendid cymbal work; and a two-part bass solo with some jaunty swing. Another stunning extra is the stuttering, urgently expressive solo on “Resolution” by Ward, who was playing with Brazil in the band that opened for Coltrane.
“Carlos Ward was a standout that night,” says Seattle bassist Pete Leinonen, who also made a point of coming to the club.
Coltrane agreed. After their set, he encouraged Ward to move to New York, where he later played with the successful funk/disco band B.T. Express, as well as Abdullah Ibrahim’s popular octet, Ekaya.
But the real Seattle hero behind “A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle” was Brazil, who not only had the presence of mind to record the show but may well have been the impetus for Coltrane playing the piece at all. Brazil, who moved to Seattle in 1961, had befriended Coltrane while living in Detroit. They shared a mutual interest not only in music but in chanting and Eastern spirituality — in particular, the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita, which they discussed at length while Coltrane was in Seattle. That week, Brazil also booked studio time during the day to record yet another album with Coltrane’s expanded band, “Om,” with Brazil playing wooden flute. It’s not a stretch to credit Brazil with putting Coltrane in the frame of mind that prompted him to revisit “A Love Supreme.”
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