Today we celebrate the 50th anniversary of John Coltrane’s album A Love Supreme. a crescendo in the American theo-musical imagination as he gives musical form to the flow of love. Recorded by the Coltrane Quartet in a studio in Englewood, New Jersey on December 9, 1964 in one day, this anthem of love has inspired a nation, a nation within a nation—the multitude, rising up to materialize love. The music was made by what has come to be known as the classic John Coltrane quartet, including Coltrane on saxophone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. Trane treats the love theme through a four-part suite with four titled tracks: acknowledgement, resolution, pursuance, and psalm. Pursuance is my favorite movement. Pursuance pulsates. It is a forward-moving movement, with explosive energy and high-speed tempo. Pursuance brings musical form to the drama of discipleship. We are all driven by deep desire. Early Christian theologians like Gregory of Nyssa described the dynamic of desire as Epektasis, from the term ep-ek-teinomai meaning to reach out after. It is the creature’s constant forward motion or journey beyond itself into the boundlessness of God’s fullness as the creature’s capacities are stretched by what it receives. “Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus,” writes the Apostle Paul (3:13,14). A Love Supreme inspires us to press on in the art of music making and struggle for a more just and sustainable world. I love you Trane!
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 04:59:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015