Alabama (John Coltrane song) facts for kids
Alabama is a powerful jazz song created by the famous American musician John Coltrane. He first recorded it in 1963 with his amazing band, which included McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. Two versions of this song can be found on Coltrane's 1964 album, Live at Birdland. Many people believe Coltrane wrote and performed "Alabama" as a response to a very sad event. On September 15, 1963, a terrible act of violence happened at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. This attack, carried out by a hate group, tragically killed four young African-American girls: Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Carol Denise McNair (11).
Contents
The Story Behind "Alabama"
This section tells you more about why John Coltrane created this important song.
A Song of Remembrance
A jazz expert named Bill Cole wrote in his 1977 book about John Coltrane that "Alabama" was composed to remember the four girls who died. Coltrane recorded the song on November 18, 1963. This was 64 days after the terrible church bombing. It was also just four days before the sad event of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.
Inspired by Dr. King
Bill Cole also shared that the melody of "Alabama" was inspired by the way Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke. Coltrane listened closely to Dr. King's speeches and used the rhythm of his words to create the song's tune. This shows how deeply Coltrane felt about the Civil Rights Movement.
TV Performance
Coltrane, Tyner, Garrison, and Jones performed "Alabama" again for a TV show called Jazz Casual. This show was hosted by Ralph J. Gleason. They recorded it on December 7, 1963, at KQED TV in San Francisco. The episode was shown on TV in February 1964. Before this, the band had been playing live shows every night for twelve days in San Francisco.
"Alabama" Through Generations
This section talks about how the song "Alabama" has continued to be played by new generations of musicians.
Sons of Jazz Legends Play On
In 2016, the famous drummer Jack DeJohnette included "Alabama" on his album called In Movement. What's really special about this recording is that the other two musicians on the album were Ravi Coltrane (playing saxophone) and Matthew Garrison (playing bass). Ravi is John Coltrane's son, and Matthew is Jimmy Garrison's son. This means the sons of the original musicians played this important song together!
Jack DeJohnette had a personal connection too. He had played with John Coltrane himself. He also knew Ravi and Matt since they were kids. This trio performed "Alabama" live at the Berlin Jazz Festival on November 5, 2016.
Selected Recordings
This table shows some of the important recordings of "Alabama."
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Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Two versions of "Alabama" from this session were released on the album Live at Birdland.
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Recorded at Avatar Studios in Hell's Kitchen, New York. Released on Jack DeJohnette's album, In Movement.
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Videos and Films
"Alabama" has also been featured in TV shows and movies.
- Jazz Casual
- This was a TV show recorded in San Francisco on December 7, 1963. It featured John Coltrane and his band. The show was broadcast on TV in February 1964. You can find videos of this performance online.
- John Coltrane (tenor saxophone); McCoy Tyner (piano); Jimmy Garrison (bass); Elvin Jones (drums)
- (video via YouTube)
- Malcolm X (1992)
- This movie was directed by Spike Lee. A version of "Alabama" from the November 18, 1963, recording session was used in the film's soundtrack. The soundtrack was released in 1992.
See Also
