Fri Jan 16
Rob Dixon • A Love Supreme • 61st Anniversary Tribute
7PM / $30 - $60 | $3.50 Fees Get Tickets
A Love Supreme - John Coltrane Tribute
A powerful evening tributing one of jazz history's most important works: John Coltrane's seminal album, A Love Supreme, for its 61st anniversary!
Proud to feature the incomparable talent of saxophonist Rob Dixon, who will lead an all-star band in a stirring performance of this iconic four-part suite. Experience the intensity and timeless beauty of Coltrane's masterpiece, a profound declaration of faith and musical genius. Don't miss this opportunity to witness a legendary work performed by one of the finest artists on the scene today. It promises to be an unforgettable night of musical innovation and exhilarating jazz!
John Coltrane recorded A Love Supreme in December of 1964 and released it the following year. He presented it as a spiritual declaration that his musical devotion was now intertwined with his faith in God. In many ways, the album mirrors Coltrane's spiritual quest that grew out of his personal troubles, including a long struggle with drug and alcohol addiction.
While A Love Supreme is a recognized musical masterpiece, it had enormous personal significance for Coltrane. In the spring of 1957, his dependence on heroin and alcohol lost him one of the best jobs in jazz. He was playing sax and touring with Miles Davis' popular group when he became unreliable and strung out. Alternately catatonic and brilliant, Coltrane's behavior and playing became increasingly erratic. Davis fired him after a live show that April.
Soon after, Coltrane resolved to clean up his act. He would later write, in the 1964 liner notes to A Love Supreme, "In the year of 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening, which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life."
But Coltrane didn't always stay the clean course. As he also wrote in the album's notes, "As time and events moved on, I entered into a phase which is contradictory to the pledge and away from the esteemed path. But thankfully now, through the merciful hand of God, I do perceive and have been fully reinformed of his omnipotence. It is truly a love supreme."
The album is, in many ways, a reaffirmation of faith. And the suite lays out what you might call its four phases: "Acknowledgement," "Resolution," "Pursuance" and "Psalms." A Love Supreme has even spawned something of a religious sect. Reverend Franzo Wayne King is pastor of the Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church in San Francisco. The congregation mixes African Orthodox liturgy with Coltrane's quotes and a heavy dose of his music. Pastor King calls the album the cornerstone of his 200-member church.
7PM / $30 - $60 | $3.50 Fees Get Tickets