Is A Love Supreme the best Jazz album ever recorded?
It depends what your personal preferences are, of course, but I think there’s a lot in its favour.
The musicianship on display is simply out of this world. In particular, I love the drumming, which is slightly inhuman in its dexterity. This display along ought to rank Elvin Jones as one of the all time greats.
It’s hard to pick between the constituent songs which make up A Love Supreme, and perhaps it’s better to consider the album as one cohesive work. It’s a deeply spiritual undertaking, something that comes across best on the first and last songs. The first piece in particular has a messianic quality due to the repetitive vocal.
But I like this one because it showcases the brilliant piano, bass and sax, on top of those golden drums.
This one came out in 1965 – at this stage I probably don’t need to tell you which album it appears on…