My Best Abilities The Beginning Of Coltrane s Alabama ...

You can see in the image above where I aligned to my best abilities the beginning of Coltrane s Alabama with King s speech. Hearing a recording of the two overlapping is much more obvious but you can still see how some of the words can fit into the rhythms Coltrane played. I personally believe Coltrane did this on purpose. Of course, we have no way of know but there are some points in the speech and music where it lines up so well that it s unmistakable. There are also parts that do not mix well together, some of which you can see above but maybe Coltrane did that on purpose as well, to add his own take on King s speech. Maybe even say some more things that King didn t say that Coltrane wanted him to say. Coltrane s use of his playing abilities makes this piece speak volumes. The beginning of this piece is essentially a lament. You can feel the sorrow and grief of the friends and family involved in this tragedy pour out of Coltrane s sound. Coltrane never considered himself to be a p olitical activist. He was a musician first, but he was also a deeply religious person. Maybe it was his beliefs that drew him towards the civil rights movement. Coltrane played eight benefit concerts to support Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964 and recorded multiple tracks to help inspired the struggle. Art like this though cannot depend on content alone. Someone can listen to this piece and enjoy its beauty just as much as someone who knows the meaning behind it. This is another protest