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The Genius Of John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” (Elvin Jones)

Drumeo | November 17, 2025



Recorded on December 9, 1964, in a single session, “A Love Supreme” was Coltrane’s spiritual statement.

The four-part suite features Elvin Jones on drums, and it’s a record drummers continue to return to. It captures his Afro-Caribbean and classical influences, his driving swing feel, and his explosive soloing.

Join Drumeo’s Brandon Toews as he dives into Elvin Jones’ drumming on “A Love Supreme”, a recording that has inspired drummers for over 60 years. It’s a cornerstone of jazz history, and this video explores why it remains one of the most important albums ever made.

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Learn How To Play “A Love Supreme” On The Drums!
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Chapters:

00:00 – Intro
01:17 – Leading Up To “A Love Supreme”
02:12 – How Elvin Met John Coltrane
03:20 – Elvin’s “A Love Supreme” Drum Kit
04:41 – Win A Drum Kit!
05:22 – “Acknowledgement”
10:52 – “Resolution”
12:57 – “Pursuance”
17:43 – “Psalm”
19:46 – The Legacy Of “A Love Supreme”
21:31 – Why “A Love Supreme” Matters To Drummers
25:37 – Final Thoughts
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Written by Drumeo

Comments

This post currently has 44 comments.

  6. @Ampheaven

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    What a treasure of a video.. thoughtfully, and soulfully and methodically presented, should be required viewing for any serious lover of music.. thanks

  8. @johnnyblue1101

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    So yes, it’s true: Music is magic.
    Hearing this music at the right moment is like an awakening. Blessed are those who experience this artistic wonder in the quiet moments of our lives. As for me, It was the moment I got religion. The spirit is so strong.
    “A Love Supreme”is simply one of the most heartfelt (and heart-opening) spiritual expressions of “universal truth” of our times (that is to say Art … that which binds us together as humanity). (See Tolstoy)
    I fondly remember the exact moment during the 1970s when I put on this magical album in my apartment in New Jersey, the one overlooking the Hudson, (not even knowing that I had stumbled upon a masterpiece); Amazingly, it just knocked me out; I had no idea that honest music possessed such magical powers, that it could seize my mind, body and soul so wonderfully like this. Indeed, Trane’s saxophone cry on “Resolution” was my “Road to Damascus” moment; for right then and there I experienced the urgency and honesty of a music wherein I was baptized by the beautiful power of it; giddy and blessed; the holy spirit rained down upon me right there on the spot as I literally froze … then turned around and asked myself … in essence … WTF!! Whoa!! I was “touched” – and deeply at that. By some profound artistic and spiritual alchemy he had found “the WAY”. Opened us up to it. Praise be to God.
    It was like Trane and his disciples had “connected me” to the Motherland. Somehow. “Painting with sound” to a polyrhythmic drumbeat, pulsating bassline and Tyner’s elegant accompaniment is an apt description. I mean … I been in “the church” ever since.
    For many years, my family and I had the great experience of living in High Point, NC., Trane’s hometown, a place where we (a broad section of the community, that is) proudly erected a large monument to his memory, standing tall right there in front of City Hall for all the world to see and to soak up. Hope it does some good. The “spirit” along Washington Street nearby where he lived and went to school is palpable. There’s a reason Sonny Rollins called him a “minister of sound”. Moreover, his grandfather preached as a prominent local minister.
    And yes, I’m a Jazz musician – but for fun, “freedom of personal expression” (as Monk said) and for the everlasting peace it can bring.
    For further exploration of this power I recommend Michael Harper’s “Dear John, dear Coltrane”. Poetry.
    And then Baraka’s Am/Trak.
    And of course, Lewis Porter’s magisterial work and book “John Coltrane, His Life and Music”.

  9. @hshlom

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    Every musician on this recording is playing in a uniquely groundbreaking way. From a very amateur jazz pianist, thank you for giving a very interesting drummer's perspective.

  16. @JordanHowellMusic

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    I don’t need to win the drums but I am from Philly, jazz drummer, and my father and mother (and brother and sister in law and uncle) are all musicians . Glad to see you’re covering Coltrane and Elvin. Another thing like this but even better is “Live at the half note”. Elvin’s bass drum pedal breaks and they go get Another pedal from a nearby club and then join back in. So crazy . Grateful to be a drummer. And I will enter the contest just in case there’s any chance. Thank you 🙏 though!

  17. @eximusic

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    Everyone talks about A Love Supreme, not enough people talk about Crescent. I don't think all those people have heard the other classic quartet records.

  23. @steevodrums4749

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    Yes more jazz on drumeo …otherwise you have good content displaying alot of different music styles with drummers …and great new drummers of the current time..you have also had on alot of the drummer legends…I was just wondering was it almost impossible to ever get …Dave Weckel…Steve Gadd and of course….Vinnie Colaiuta..on your show

  28. @jackelder6047

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    The first time I heard this, it came on my radio alarm clock right at 8 AM in the morning when I was suffering from the flu in 1990. It was in New Orleans, it came on WWOZ. The first gong note rang through the radio, and I woke up in darkness(no windows in the room) and heard the whole thing… Before getting up to go to the bathroom, I’ve never been the same…

  29. @chicagotouch9319

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    Congrats on covering the drumming of what many jazz pros consider the most iconic and brilliant jazz acheivments of the 20th century. I know that high-level jazz drummers consistently regard Elven at the high-end of jazz drumming. Thank you for helping why pro drummers have such a high regard for what was accomplished with A Love Supreme.

  30. @ronnie-sabbath-2112

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    Many years ago in college, I heard a professor say that Elvin Jones could be compared to Bruce Lee in martial arts, because of his drumming technique and how he broke traditional jazz standards and conventions in the 1960s with John Coltrane's band. After years of listening to Elvin's catalog, I've come to agree.

  32. @MiqelDotCom

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    Fantastic analysis, and thanks for highlighting this recording. It's one of the major landmarks in the history of recorded music, and it has influenced and inspired many of the great musicians of the late 20th / early 21st century.

  33. @josefinacupido9872

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    Thank you guys at Drumeo, I love this video. I first heard this album in LDN in the early 1980's, & I was drawn in by the spirituality and musical energy.
    I was also learning about Afro Cuban & Latin musics, and I was trying to break away from more conventional mainstream music and got lost & found with my playing in this music, it's my home, but I do & don't understand it, there is simplicity and complexity too. Coltrane, Elvin & Max Roach & early & later Abby Lincoln kept me musically alive & sane as did this album. And now in my 70's I've spent a lot of time going back to basics, which makes me appreciate this album even more now. Thank you Drumeo.🙏

  35. @betod63

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    When they recorded A Love Supreme, the (classic) quartet had already been playing together for years, even a little before their first album, My Favorite Things.
    On the other hand, while A Love Supreme has a spiritual dimension that reflects Coltrane's soul, it's reductive to leave it at that, because it's also a powerful scream of hope and a reflection of the best of humanity in the face of racism and oppression in the United States. Prayer and Struggle, as Baraka would say.
    In any case, the evolving musical direction of Coltrane led to Jones being replaced by someone even freer and who proposed a multidimensional approach. Therefore, some of the points made in this video about Elvin's differences from other jazz drummers more focused on time, etc., seem to contradict the fact that his limitations in fluidity were precisely what was deepened and expanded with Rashied Ali. Macoy Tyner would also leave for similar reasons, with bass player Jimmy Garrison being the only member of the (classic) quartet to remain with Coltrane until the end (1967).

  37. @dustinchaffee722

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    First time I heard A Love Supreme I didn't realize I was actually listening to a live version (Disk 2 of "A Love Supreme: Platinum Collection", live in France). Definitely worth a listen for Elvin fans, and anyone that isn't scared of a slightly more adventurous version!

  38. @stephenjedgarphoto

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    Elvin Jones gave me the biggest bear hug! It was after his set at the Purple Onion in Toronto -91 i think?. I was the mulleted 20yr ol' seated right in front of his bass drum. Ravi caught shit mid set for not paying attention…I was IN AWE of this man's power and passion and sweat! At the final cymbal hit, I stood up with my arms stretched high in the air. Totally blown away. He stepped down of his platform, and wrapped his arms around me in the biggest and sweatiest embrace. It was a glorious. Love this man's work. Thank you so much for this, Drumeo!!!

  41. @iancunningham5576

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    My older brother brought John Coltrane and Elvin Jones into my world when I was 19. This was the album. I immediately began my journey towards finding the inner balance between the variables of compositional, conversational, spiritual, and emotional drumming. The essence of listening within a unit and taking flight.

  42. @TheLumaInChroma

    November 17, 2025 at 4:28 am

    1. I first discovered this album about 34 years ago, and fell in love with it. I find it wonderful and surprising that it’s taken all this time to find a video with a comprehensive breakdown of Elvin’s drumming on that album (especially so the video not being behind some kind of paywall). Thanks for including such clear examples and notations!
    2. I had the pleasure of seeing Elvin twice at Ronnie’s. Three things occurred to me at the time. The first, was that he would groan and grunt and make all kinds of vocal noises as he was playing, all of which were surprisingly audible over his drum playing, which was already loud as you can imagine. Secondly, what I was witnessing was Jazz, not people thinking they were playing jazz but actually playing musaq. It had an incredible intensity, and seemed to represent the Afro-American tradition and experience. Thirdly, his Japanese wife set up, organised and maintained his drum kit, with the love and devotion to precision and focus that Japanese people are famous for. It was very sweet to watch.
    I’m sad Elvin’s no longer with us, but happy he managed to positively contribute to so many people’s lives. Thank you, Elvin.

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