John Coltrane's masterpiece, A Love Supreme, has become the first jazz album of the 1960s to achieve platinum certification.
Universal Music announced the news yesterday (November 10) in a press release, noting that A Love Supreme achieved platinum certification by reaching one million album sales. It marks Coltrane’s first platinum record.
Coltrane’s surviving son Ravi and daughter Michelle (the child of his second wife, Alice McLeod Coltrane) received a platinum plaque for the famous saxophonist's album in a ceremony at the John & Alice Coltrane House in Dix Hills, Long Island. The event occurred during the first week of November, Variety reports.
John Coltrane’s "A Love Supreme" has been certified Platinum in the US.
— impulse! records (@impulselabel) November 10, 2021
After 56 years, one of the most celebrated & iconic records in jazz history goes platinum – Coltrane’s first ever platinum record.
Listen to the "A Love Supreme" Platinum Collection https://t.co/U5ISjAxljE pic.twitter.com/0RAGswlDY7
Ravi said, “We are thrilled and humbled to witness this incredible milestone in our father’s recorded legacy. I believe both John and Alice would be very proud of this achievement. We take great pride knowing new generations continue to discover this album and that the music continues to speak to their souls.”
Coltrane's four-part, album-length suite was recorded December 9, 1964 by his classic quartet: pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones. A Love Supreme was taped in one session at Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The record was originally released by Impulse! in 1965. Composed and created by Coltrane as a “humble offering to the Divine,” the album sold well at the time of its release.
Earlier this year, Impulse! and UMe drummed interest in the album back up after releasing A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle - a rare private recording of Coltrane’s quartet performing selections from the LP in 1965. It is the second of only two known live recordings of Coltrane performing the full piece, and it is believed the special album helped push A Love Supreme past its gold certification (which it received in 1970) into platinum territory.
Impulse! Records and UMe have also released a digital-only collection titled A Love Supreme: The Platinum Collection, in celebration of Coltrane’s milestone. The collection includes all commercially released versions of the LP: the original album, a live 1965 recording from Antibes, France, A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle, and outtakes and alternative takes from A Love Supreme: The Complete Masters. It is available to download here.
Even more, Impulse! Records is now selling limited edition vinyl of the album. Each record is cut from the original analog source master, one by one, onto lacquer blanks from Japan. You can get your special vinyl version of A Love Supreme here.
See the label's A Love Supreme Mastercut announcement below.
In celebration of John Coltrane’s "A Love Supreme" going platinum, you can now get a special limited edition "A Love Supreme" Mastercut. https://t.co/YGdIf9NJZA pic.twitter.com/xUfeEZu9Vv
— impulse! records (@impulselabel) November 10, 2021
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Article Image: Black and white photo of John Coltrane on an airplane tarmac in 1963. (Hugo van Gelderen [Available through Public Domain] via Wikimedia Commons.)