Monday, May 9, 2016

John Malveaux: "Alabama" John Coltrane and Martin Luther King (YouTube 4:31) [Steve Rowland's radio documentary "Tell Me How Long Trane's Been Gone"]


John Coltrane recording of "Alabama" 

Uploaded on Apr 6, 2010
This is a section of Steve Rowland's radio documentary "Tell Me How Long Trane's Been Gone". Produced/directed by Rowland, written by Larry Abrams and narrated by Michael S. Harper. The composition "Alabama" was released in 1963 shortly after the horrific murder of 4 Little Girls in a church in Birmingham, AL. Some jazz writers have claimed that the tune is NOT about these 4 girls. We disagree and think this shows that Coltrane might have memorized parts of Martin Luther King's moving eulogy and based his composition on the words. See what you think!

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