How do you improve upon one of the most significant recordings in jazz history? In this case you can’t, and wisely, Verve has chosen not to try, placing nothing but ‘Trane’s original four-part suite on disc one of this set. A Love Supreme is Coltrane’s prayerful and often-intense offering to his Creator and provides a bridge between the saxophonist’s early recordings and later free-jazz explosions. Remastered from a newly discovered tape, the sound is somewhat more defined than on previously released versions. Disc two features the only complete live recording of the entire suite, which was previously unreleased. Added to that are unreleased sextet versions of the first movement (“Acknowledgement”)—where Coltrane, bassist Jimmy Garrison, drummer Elvin Jones, and pianist McCoy Tyner are joined by saxophonist Archie Shepp and bassist Art Davis—and two alternate takes of “Resolution.” Thirty-eight years after its release, A Love Supreme remains a source of discovery for even the most ardent fan.—SG
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