John Coltrane performing in Frankfurt, Germany.
John Coltrane performing in Frankfurt, Germany.
Photo by Wolfgang Kunz via Getty Images.

Rare Live Recording of John Coltrane Performing 'A Love Supreme' Set for First-Ever Release

A newly-discovered recording of John Coltrane performing A Love Supreme live in 1965 is set to arrive this fall.

Though it is widely regarded as a seminal album for both John Coltrane and an era of jazz he helped define, the divinely-inspired material on A Love Supreme rarely appeared in a live set from the late jazz giant.

But that isn't to say he avoided it altogether. In 2002, a recording of Coltrane performing the album at a festival in Antibes, France was issued as the only known performance of the four-part suite. But according to a press release, a private recording of Coltrane performing the 1965 album is set for its first release on October 8th via Impulse! as A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle. Pulled from a set at Seattle's Penthouse nightclub in 1965, the performance features Elvin Jones on drums, McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Pharoah Sanders on sax. Pieces from the band's six-night run in the Penthouse were previously included on the posthumously-released live album Live in Seattle in 1971. Those included in A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle have been sitting in the archive of saxophonist, Joe Brazil, for nearly 60 years. They were rediscoverd by local musician Steve Griggs following Brazil's death in 2013.

Ahead of the release of A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle, Impulse! has shared the transcendent six-plus-minute closer from the set. Hear a selection from the rare John Coltrane recording below. Pre-order your copy of the live album on vinyl today.

A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle Tracklist:

01 A Love Supreme, Pt. 1 – Acknowledgement (Live in Seattle/1965)

02 Interlude 1 (Live in Seattle/1965)

03 A Love Supreme, Pt. II – Resolution (Live in Seattle/1965)

04 Interlude 2 (Live in Seattle/1965)

05 A Love Supreme, Pt. III – Pursuance (Live in Seattle/1965)

06 Interlude 3 (Live in Seattle/1965)

07 Interlude 4 (Live in Seattle/1965)

08 A Love Supreme, Pt. IV – Psalm (Live in Seattle/1965)

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