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Following the genre-redefining revelations of A Love Supreme in 1965, John Coltrane began a dramatic shift toward spiritual free jazz, abandoning familiar forms in favor of a more abstract sonic palette and bold questions he'd spend the rest of his life and career pursuing. Meditations, released by Impulse! in 1966, continues that emotional throughline while retaining, for the last time in full, the classic quartet that propelled Trane to greatness: pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. (They're further augmented by Pharoah Sanders on tenor sax and additional drummer Rashied Ali.) Meditations pushes Coltrane’s spiritual jazz into heightened realms of energy and abstraction — a powerful document of transformation, intensity, and devotion in Coltrane’s recorded legacy.

The Verve Vault series is all-analog, cut from the original master tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed on 180-gram vinyl. — (via Label)

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The year 1965 was a turning point in the life of John Coltrane. It was at this point that he crossed the line into the free jazz arena that he had been approaching since the early '60s. Besides his landmark Ascension, no album better illustrates this than the awe-inspiring Meditations. Coltrane's regular quartet -- McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), and Elvin Jones (drums) -- is expanded here with second drummer Rashied Ali (who assumed Jones' spot after this album) and saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. This conglomeration produces some dense textures, especially in the epic first track "The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost." This sonic hurricane is a 13-minute outpouring of spiritual emotion that is at once compelling and exhausting.

Elsewhere, the group delicately follows Coltrane's lead on the passionate "Love" and swings with abandon on the raucous "Consequences" as Sanders and 'Trane battle like warriors above the churning rhythm section. Finally, the aptly titled "Serenity" is a swirling free-form improvisation gently touching back down to earth after an adventurous ride through the heavens. — (via AllMusic)

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One man's meditation can be a migraine to another. By the early '60's, John Coltrane found himself moving ever further away from traditional forms of musical expression, and into what could be described as uncharted territory, even for jazz. So much so that the saxophonist's influence and ability to break down barriers not only within his own relatively elite circle extended itself into the ever growing rock fraternity, to the extent that bands such as The Byrds and Santana cited him as an important figure in the development of their own ideas and direction. What Coltrane himself may have thought about that is anyone's guess, since he did not live long enough to witness the newly emerging jazz-rock scene, however I'm sure he would have been both pleased as well as puzzled at his inadvertent role as high priest of modern jazz.

Just as A Love Supreme, Meditations is concerned with religious obsessions, or a "unity in life" as Coltrane himself once said. Certainly the personnel are impressive: Pharaoh Sanders (tenor saxophone, tambourine); Jimmy Garrison (bass); McCoy Tyner (piano); Elvin Jones (drums) and Rashied Ali (drums) -basically the musical equivalent to the American Special Forces.

Anyone familiar with Coltrane's more melodic work in the 1950's will be in for a bit of a shock, because Meditations is like nothing else he had ever done. From the first note played it's obvious that the listener is on a journey, one that can be as intense as it is confronting. Take "The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost" as exhibit A, with its seemingly messy, almost atonal cacophony. One thing's certain, this ain't the Beatles we're listening to, since this is something far more cerebral and abstract. — (via All About Jazz)

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Label: Impulse! / Verve Records
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo, Gatefold
Reissued: 2026 / Originally Released: 1966
Genre: Jazz
Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation

File under: Jazz - John Coltrane
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