Listen to this when
Alabama
Some grief doesn't have words. Coltrane gave it a saxophone. 🎷 #Alabama #BlackHistory
Who it's for
As an instrumental, it offers a way to feel collective grief without lyrics telling you what to think, leaving room for the listener's own sorrow and anger.
Feelings it meets
What it is
"Alabama" is an instrumental by John Coltrane, recorded in the studio at Van Gelder Studio on November 18, 1963, with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones, and released in 1964 on the album Live at Birdland. It is widely believed to be Coltrane's response to the September 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in which four Black girls were killed.
Where to find it
Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music (widely available) (on Live at Birdland and several Coltrane compilations).
Before you start
Heads up: Tied to a bombing that killed four children.
Age: Ages 12+
I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery, Chapter II
