- Meditations (album)
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Meditations 
Studio album by John Coltrane Released September 1966 Recorded November 23, 1965 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs Genre Avant-garde jazz, free jazz, hard bop, modal jazz Length 40:31 Language Instrumental Label Impulse! (A-9110) Producer Bob Thiele John Coltrane chronology Kulu Sé Mama
(1965)Meditations
(1965)Live at the Village Vanguard Again!
(1967)Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[1]Meditations is a 1965 album by John Coltrane. It features Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders as soloists, both playing tenor saxophones. Much of the recording is fairly avant-garde, featuring extensive passages in free rhythm and extended saxophone techniques such as honked and overblown notes, as well as multiphonics. This would be the last Coltrane recording with long-time partners drummer Elvin Jones and pianist McCoy Tyner.
Alternative versions of tracks 2–5 had been recorded in September 1965 by the same musicians minus Rashied Ali and Sanders. These recordings were later issued as First Meditations (for quartet) and were more restrained, containing less squealing and fewer overblown notes.
Contents
Religious meaning?
This album is viewed by many as expounding upon the framework Coltrane laid in A Love Supreme.[2] David Liebman explains:
“ The five titles for the suite undeniably portray a strong religious quality: 1. "The Father and The Son and The Holy Ghost" (suggesting the Holy Trinity); 2. "Compassion"; 3. "Love" (the essential message of Christ); 4. "Consequences" (for those who don't follow the path?); 5. "Serenity" (the eventual resting place?) ” This falls along with Coltrane's statement that he "believes in all religions".
Track listing
All songs written by John Coltrane.
- "The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost" – 12:51
- "Compassion" – 6:50
- "Love" – 8:09
- "Consequences" – 9:11
- "Serenity" – 3:28
Personnel
- John Coltrane – tenor saxophone, band leader
- Rashied Ali – drums
- Jimmy Garrison – double bass
- Elvin Jones – drums
- Pharoah Sanders – tenor saxophone
- McCoy Tyner – piano
References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Hentoff, Nat (1966). Meditations: John Coltrane. Impulse! Records Inc.. pp. 3–11. ISBN 11105-0199-2.
- ^ Liebman, David (1996). "John Coltrane's Meditations Suite: A Study in Symmetry". Annual Review of Jazz (8): 167–180.
Categories:- 1965 albums
- Albums produced by Bob Thiele
- Avant-garde jazz albums
- Free jazz albums
- Impulse! Records albums
- Instrumental albums
- John Coltrane albums
- Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio
- Hard bop albums
- Modal jazz albums
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