On Sunday September 15th 1963, four black girls (11 to 14 years old) were murdered by a bomb placed in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Just like Nina Simone, John Coltrane was inspired to compose a musical tribute/response. Recorded on November 18th 1963, “Alabama” is Trane’s most compelling commentary, inspired by a horrific event. 23 others were hurt in the mayhem. Coltrane’s response was passionate and intense. His saxophone echoed the speech MLK gave at their funeral. Mirroring King’s transition from mourning to determination, Elvin Jones’ drumming erupts from a delicate whisper to a thundering rampage. “Alabama” is a prayer that ends with a cry of anguish, a reminder that the saxophone is one of the few instruments that can capture vocal affliction. Coltrane told the song’s producer Bob Thiele, “It represents, musically, something that I saw down there translated into music from inside me.”
– Pat Thomas is the author of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975.
