It’s been over 50 years after John Coltrane’s death and we’re still discovering new recordings. The jazz legend rarely played his 1965 masterpiece A Love Supreme live, and until now, the only recorded public performance available took place at a French festival in 1965. But now, following the release of the lost album Both Directions At Once and Blue World, Impulse! has announced A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle, a private recording of a rare nightclub performance from the collection of saxophonist and educator Joe Brazil.
Recorded in October 1965 during the final performance of a week-long run at The Penthouse in Seattle, A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle features Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders on saxophone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums, and Jimmy Garrison and Donald Rafael Garrett on bass; Carlos Ward also sat in. The music was recorded with a two-microphone set-up onstage connected to an Ampex reel-to-reel machine.
“What’s remarkable is that tapes from this era often suffer over the years from heat or moisture damage, or simply being stacked horizontally,” says engineer Kevin Reeves, who restored and mastered A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle. “However, these tapes are in excellent condition… and the results are among the best amateur recordings of John Coltrane we’ve had the pleasure to work on.” Listen to the album’s live rendition of “A Love Supreme, Pt. IV – Psalm” below.
A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle is out 10/8 via Impulse!/UMe. Pre-order it here.