*****
Challenging and Excellent 2 Feb 2006
Given jazz music's propensity for hero-worship, there are great risks attached to recording great works of former masters, and John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" must rank among the albums most highly revered amongst jazz fans. On the one hand one has heard far too many dreadful versions of Miles' "So What" for one lifetime, and on the other, "A Love Supreme" seems to have stood in glorious isolation, whence musicians fear to go.
How excellent it is, then, that Branford Marsalis undertook to perform and record this wonderful suite. The essence of the music is still there, and it is unmistakably Coltrane's composition, but the realisation is distinctively new. That is not to say they have thrown Coltrane's principles out, but that they have sought to approach the music from their own perspectives, and that they have achieved with great success.
I personally will spend more time listening to the CD, which is a great bonus to the pack, but the DVD is of fantastic quality, and the extra interviews, especially that with Alice Coltrane, add greatly to the enjoyment to be gained from this set.
In short, this is a fascinating and engaging performance of wonderful music. What more could you ask?
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