Ptah The El Daoud - Alice Coltrane

Advantages: Innovative and a delight to listen to
Disadvantages: None

...Alice Coltrane brings a range of cultural influences to bear on this recording, more explicitly than in the work she did with her husband John towards the end of his life - with excellent results. She features a number of instruments not normally associated with jazz: her own harp (in addition to her piano) which gives a whole new dimension to the sound - and was to be influential a generation later when Radiohead took the idea for the harp runs on "Motion Picture Soundtrack" from this album - as well as the traditional stringed instruments, the tamboura and the oud. These would probably have been unfamiliar to most Western listeners when the album first came out in 1970. Yet the blend with the jazz instruments is seamless. This is established when the double bass and soprano sax join the tamboura on the title track, and remains so... Read review

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Advantages: In a word.....Genius
Disadvantages: Might just stop you from getting anything done

...Whe I first heard the opening bars of "A Love Supreme" on a TV show I quickly grabbed a pen and paper and wrote down the name of the track and the artist. So began my love affair with this man's work, and, if there is a pinnacle to his extraordinary career, this is it. First conceived in late summer of 1964, this is John's gift to God based on his earlier struggles and final release from various addictions. He wrote the whole suite mainly without his instrument in an upstairs room at his Long Island house, simply "receiving" the music directly into his soul, whilst his wife Alice tended to the children downstairs. He spent several days on the music and as Alice later recalled when he would appear after working "It was like Moses coming down from the mountain, it was so beautiful. He walked down and there was that joy, that peace in his... Read review

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Advantages: The pinnacle of Coltrane's immense contribution to jazz.
Disadvantages: Inaccessible without perseverance.

...When I first listened to this album, I attempted to track what Coltrane was doing musically. This proved useless, for in a way the musical elements of 'A Love Supreme' are subordinate to the profound sense of spirituality. I'm not a religious person myself, but when listening to this album, I couldn't help but be awe-inspired by Coltrane's apparent subservience to God. He states himself that the album is a gift to God, and an expression of gratitude for the incredible talent with which he's been blessed. Coltrane uses his regular quartet on this album (the most staunch member being pianist McCoy Tyner), and although these musicians perform admirable supporting roles this is Coltrane's album from beginning to end. As I've already stated, one shouldn't listen to 'A Love Supreme' attempting to break down the musical elements... Read review

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