Chords for John Coltrane - "A Love Supreme" Deep Dive

[B] _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ [Gb] _
_ [E] _ _ A Love Supreme is John Coltrane's modern masterpiece, a [Gb] cornerstone album of message-giving [E] music,
a bold declaration of deep personal [Ab] conviction.
_ _ [Bbm] _ _
_ _ _ The _ _ _ music still casts a timeless spell more
than 50 years later.
To generations of musicians it's been their bible.
They revere it and
study [Bb] it. _ _
_ [Abm] _ _ [D] _ [Ab] _ _ _ _
[B] _ [A] _ _ [G] [Dbm] It continues to grow in [Ab]
popularity and [C] influence far beyond the [Cm] world of jazz.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ Coltrane composed A Love Supreme as an offering to God, [G] a humble thank [Bb] you for granting him
power [G] through his music, not the thing most people expected to read on the [C] cover of a
jazz album in _ [Cm] 1965.
_ [F] _ _ [Gm] _ _
_ _ _ Another surprising twist, [C] A Love Supreme is a meticulously composed
four-part [Cm] suite, which was [C] out of character for a saxophonist who preferred more open
[Gm] structures and playing long solos.
[Cm] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ [Gb] _ _ [A] _ _ [Em] _ _
_ _ [Eb] _ [F] _ _ _ _ _
[Ebm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Coltrane recorded A Love Supreme in one afternoon in
[A] December 1964 with his famous [Ab] quartet, [F] McCoy Tyner on piano, [Eb] Jimmy Garrison on [D] bass, and
Elvin [Bbm] Jones on [Abm] drums.
_ Coltrane's [Eb] favorite engineer, Rudy Van Gelder, [Gb] was behind the
controls.
[A] To everyone there it was [B] just another day [Db] at work, another three-hour session to
[Eb] get an album [Gb] together.
_ _ _ [E] _
[F] _ _ _ [Eb] _ [Db] _ _ _ [C] _
[Fm] _ _ [Gb] _ _ [Fm] _ _ _ _
_ [Gm] _ _ _ _ [Abm] Coltrane was a restless [Eb] experimenter, even [N] with A Love Supreme.
The
next day he returned to Van Gelder's with an expanded group, another saxophonist and
another bassist, [Eb] to try the music [Ab] again.
But he never released it.
_ [Gb] _ _ [Ab] _
_ _ [Db] _ _ [Dbm] _ _ _ [A] _
[Ab] _ _ _ [C] _ Musically, the album
mixes [Eb] modern jazz with the [Abm] ecstatic energy of the Black [Ab] Gospel.
_ _ [Cm] _ _ [Db] _ [Gb] _ _
Saturday night music
[Gm] with a Sunday morning feel. _ _
[C] _ [F] _ _ _ [D] _ [Abm] The opening section flows [Dbm] with the [Ab] structure of a [F] country church
[B] service, _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _
a warm benediction, _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ [Fm] _
_ [Ab] a preacher's fiery [Eb] sermon, [Fm] _
_ _ _ [Bb] a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ call [Fm] and response chant from
the pulpit.
[Bbm] _ _ _
[Eb] _ _ _ _ _ [Cm] _ _ _
_ _ _ [G] Coltrane wrote all the words for A Love Supreme.
It was the only time he
ever did that, explaining his music and his motivation as a musician.
_ _ [A] _ [C] _ _ _ _ _
[Cm] _ Coltrane's poem
on the album cover serves as [F] a hymnal for the final [Cm] section of A Love Supreme, a way
for the listener to follow the music and understand [C] its meaning as he blows the words through
his saxophone. _ _
_ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
[Cm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ When [Fm] the album came out in 1965, it created confusion with its strange
structures [Cm] and spiritual message, but [C] people could tell it was important. _
_ _ _ It quickly became
Coltrane's best-selling album and was nominated for a Grammy. _
_ _ [Cm] _ _ _ _ _ [Gm]
What was the supreme love Coltrane
[C] referred to? _ _
[Gm] What really is his message?
[Bbm] _ _ _
[Eb] _ _ [Fm] No matter what church you go to or which [Bb] God
you worship, the same spark lives in each of us and connects us all.
It's about universality
and everyone being born with a divine all [E]-access path. _ _
_ _ _ _ All paths lead to God, is [C] how he put
_ [Gm] _ [Cm] _ _ _
_ _ [Gm] _ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _
[C] _ _ _ it.
There's an old African-American [Gm] proverb that says, the spirit will not descend without
a song.
_ John Coltrane was a [C] supreme example of this idea.
A Love Supreme, the masterwork
he left us, continues to preach, to teach, and to reach [Cm] millions. _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Gm] _ _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _