ABSTRACT
Rather than composing a score, or even a complete melody or chord progression, Coltrane sketched an outline of A Love Supreme. The complete original manuscript, written by hand on staff paper, is at the Smithsonian Institution, and is available digitally at https://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NMAH.AC.0903. This transcription of the beginning of the outline shows the first of the four sections, titled “Acknowledgement” on the album. The table on the following page compares the structure of this outline to what takes place in the final, recorded version. Overall, the recording follows Coltrane’s original plan, except that the bulk of the track is in F minor, falling to E-flat b minor only at the very end. Coltrane plays an opening solo focusing on the pitches given; rests while the rhythm section establishes the groove and introduces the primary motif; plays an extended solo that ends with playing the motif in all 12 keys; and finally chants “A Love Supreme” repeatedly (see transcriptions on the following pages). Coltrane left room for the members of his rhythm section to flesh out the outline with their own ideas. Although Coltrane notates only the simplest pattern, the drums begin with a Latin groove, become most complex and polyrhythmic in the middle, and settle into more repetitive patterns toward the end. The bass takes on an especially important role in the recording, introducing the primary motif (without the piano) and playing an extended solo to close the “Acknowledgment” section. The outline also includes draft material for the poem printed on the back of the album. The first phrase Coltrane has written at the bottom of the first page perhaps captures the message of the whole: “All Paths Lead to God.”
