"Resolution," the second movement of John Coltrane's 1964 suite A Love Supreme, features two tenor saxophone solos from Coltrane bookending a twelve-chorus piano solo from McCoy Tyner. Performed in E-flat minor with an 8-bar form at 178 BPM, the movement's title reflects a determination to pursue spiritual truth. Coltrane opens with two choruses before Tyner takes command for twelve searching piano choruses, followed by Coltrane's return for fourteen more intense choruses. Tyner's solo is one of his finest recorded statements, his quartal voicings and percussive attack creating waves of harmonic color. Coltrane's second solo builds with escalating intensity, pushing the boundaries of the harmonic framework. The movement follows the introspective "Acknowledgement" with a more assertive musical statement, its driving swing tempo and clearly defined form providing structure for the improvisations. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's studio for Impulse! Records, A Love Supreme was conceived as a unified four-part composition expressing Coltrane's gratitude to God. The album's influence on subsequent jazz musicians has been immeasurable, and "Resolution" is often cited as the suite's most traditionally satisfying movement, its hard-swinging momentum and brilliant solos accessible to listeners at all levels of jazz familiarity.
