*

Alan Patterson writes: “In this poem, I attempted to convey in my own words, my feelings when I listen to Coltrane’s music. I believe Coltrane strove to express in his music his worship of a loving and powerful God, who sustains us daily. His masterpiece, A Love Supreme, remains one of the greatest musical testaments in that vein.”

Coltrane

 

His Voice

crying in the wilderness

sighing, screeching, singing,

of soul secrets and sufferings

stark, silent sound

invoking Heaven’s muse

and Purgatory’s cleansing fire.

Who, speaking in tongues

created new language

who captured Eternity’s essence

with every note he played

who God breathed through

so gently, so fully.

Whose music made the spirit dance

and the soul sing.

Who crystallized Heaven’s silent tears

in prayerful psalm-like playing.

‘Trane blowing sweet and sour sounds

as Elvin Jones nails beat down

an orchestra of percussion

propelling muse onward

with sharp, cymbal-snake rattle

and fills of falling hailstones-snare drum.

Jimmy Garrison plucks melody on bass –

soul-throb anchor grounds the sound

for night flight tenor squeal-sigh solo

while chords cascade like ever-present

snowfall

from McCoy Tyner’s softly steady piano

pulse

gently drifting downward until,

unnoticed, they embrace then dissolve

into concrete ground of complete sound.

 

Coltrane

conveyed through

prayerful wild abandon

 

serenity and suffering

joy and pathos

harmony and dissonance

peace and anger

 

At times

frantic and frenzied

rushes of exclamations

defying expectations

“sheets of sound”

twisting notes inward upon themselves

wrapping sound around sound around sound

until all semblance of structure

collapsed

in chaotic exhaustion

as pure unfiltered emotion

from somewhere deep beneath

ordinary consciousness

communicating the very root of it all

came tumbling out of the torrents of sound

overflowing with feeling

momentary connection of beyond

understanding –

a shrieking siren song from the soul.

 

At times

liquidly lyrical

romantically rhapsodizing

gentle sigh of joy/love/gladness

heartbeat hymn

too breathtakingly beautiful

for words to capture

just a sad sweet serenade

floating freely

in the timeless serene eternity

of A Love Supreme.

 

— Alan Patterson