John Coltrane
Tenor Sax Solo on
A Love Supreme, Part 2: Resolution

About

John Coltrane returns for fourteen choruses of tenor saxophone on "Resolution" at approximately 182 BPM, the most extended improvisation on this movement of A Love Supreme. Following his own two-chorus opening and McCoy Tyner's twelve-chorus piano feature, Coltrane's second solo builds with escalating intensity over the 8-bar form in E-flat minor, pushing the boundaries of the harmonic framework with the spiritual urgency that defines the entire suite. His fourteen-chorus arc demonstrates the ability to sustain creative invention across an enormous span, each chorus deepening the musical and emotional narrative. "Resolution" is often cited as the suite's most traditionally satisfying movement, and Coltrane's closing solo is its climactic centerpiece.

John Coltrane was 37 to 38 years old at the time.