Translation of the German review:

John Coltrane contributed to Miles Davis Quintet's 1959 album Kind of Blue and shaped the early days of modal jazz with his saxophone. His growing fame opened the way for him to pursue his goals as a soloist, bandleader, and composer (please continue reading, you are in the right review). Coltrane struck out on his own in 1960 and released his masterpiece A Love Supreme in 1965, a hymn of praise to God. With McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), and Elvin Jones (drums, gong), John Coltrane had a very homogeneous quartet at his disposal. The album is classified as modal jazz, avant-garde jazz, post-bop, and spiritual jazz, and not only marked the peak of Coltrane's career, but was also a stylistic innovation in the form of a suite. I listened to the album frequently as a young person and at the time I really enjoyed the trance-inducing repetitions. Today, I still consider the album a great success, but the recitative elements, which were certainly spectacular in 1965 when it was released, seem a little outdated to me in places.

In this context, the 2007 version by the KAMA QUARTET FEAT. NIPPY NOYA, recorded as a studio concert at Bauer Studios in Ludwigsburg (Germany), is just right. A Love Supreme is masterfully interpreted and comes across as fresh, compact, and dynamic, with a driving rhythm and wonderful solos out of the speakers. The track Acknowledgement immediately draws me into the sound adventure. The band plays fluid, accessible jazz, enriched in places with rock elements, which continues with Resolution. Although the playing times of the original and cover versions are comparable at around 33 minutes, the KAMA QURARTET's version gives me the impression of sitting in an express train, as if musical landscapes were passing before my eyes. During the pieces Pursuance and Psalm, the musical action slows down. Calm and a meditative character set in.

The analogue recording was made by sound engineer Philipp Heck from Bauer Studios using carefully selected microphones, a Neve console and a Studer A 820 tape machine. At a concert like this, the artists have no choice: they must prove their professionalism on the first take, as it is not possible to edit the finished stereo tracks afterwards.

The KAMA QUARTET FEAT. NIPPY NOYA has succeeded in creating a modern version that is faithful to the original on the one hand and represents a varied alternative on the other. The quintet brilliantly manages to shine a new light on the original. The sound is round and rich, and the stage image is just right. The instrumentation recorded in the insert can be heard exactly as intended with well-positioned stereo speakers. The large studio at Bauer Studios provides the perfect atmosphere for this project. The album was released in 2025 by in-akustik as a master tape copy.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)