06/14/2026
ALBUM OF THE DAY
A Love Supreme
John Coltrane, 1965
Join our 3pm daily “Album of the Day” listening sessions, when we play a complete album, uninterrupted at full volume.
Today we are listening to John Coltrane’s towering 1965 release, A Love Supreme. Recorded in just one single session in December 1964, the album came out during a time when Coltrane was experiencing a massive spiritual awakening. After battling severe addiction a few years prior, he clean-cut his life and channeled his gratitude into a four-part musical prayer.
Musically, A Love Supreme is the ultimate tour de force of spiritual jazz. It’s a four-part suite—“Acknowledgement,” “Resolution,” “Pursuance,” and “Psalm”—that bridges the gap between traditional post-bop jazz and the wild, boundary-pushing world of avant-garde. You can hear its DNA all over modern music, influencing everyone from Kamasi Washington and Flying Lotus to rock icons like Carlos Santana and Jimi Hendrix. The whole record thrives on the telepathic chemistry of Coltrane’s Classic Quartet: Jimmy Garrison’s hypnotic basslines, Elvin Jones’ thundering drums, McCoy Tyner’s cascading piano, and Coltrane’s soaring, deeply emotional saxophone.
At the time, it was a massive risk to put out a jazz record that was essentially a heavy, deeply personal religious poem. But it quickly became a commercial and critical smash hit. Today, it’s not just viewed as one of the greatest jazz albums ever made—it’s widely considered one of the most powerful spiritual expressions ever captured on tape.