2. Naima #JohnColtrane100
I will stay in the ballad mood for some days, probably because the ballads Coltrane played have some immediate reach on me, while the faster pieces, and I'm not talking about the furious ones, sometimes keep me distant.
Here is that piece, Naima, composed in 1959 for his wife. The melody is simple, the harmony does not vary much, suggested in a simple way by Wynton Kelly's chords on the piano, each chord lasting one full bar, and by a striking bass line that leaves engaging silences. The piano chorus hides the sophistication of its modulations. This is a beautiful piece of love.
Preparing this post and reading Wikipedia's page on that composition, I discovered a poem by Kamau Brathwaite which I will simply copy here.
“Naima” for John Coltrane
Propped against the crowded bar
he pours into the curved and silver horn
his old unhappy longing for a home
the dancers twist and turn
he leans and wishes he could burn
his memories to ashes like some old notorious emperor
of rome, but no stars blazed across the sky when he was born
no wise men found his hovel, this crowded bar
where dancers twist and turn
holds all the fame and recognition he will ever earn
on earth or heaven, he leans against the bar
and pours his old unhappy longing in the saxophone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPAC6zt_1ZM
⏚ Antoine Chambert-Loir
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2026-09-24 17:48:37 UTC
in reply to nevent1q…k5t3
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2026-09-24 17:48:37 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "2. Naima #JohnColtrane100 \n\nI will stay in the ballad mood for some days, probably because the ballads Coltrane played have some immediate reach on me, while the faster pieces, and I'm not talking about the furious ones, sometimes keep me distant.\n\nHere is that piece, Naima, composed in 1959 for his wife. The melody is simple, the harmony does not vary much, suggested in a simple way by Wynton Kelly's chords on the piano, each chord lasting one full bar, and by a striking bass line that leaves engaging silences. The piano chorus hides the sophistication of its modulations. This is a beautiful piece of love.\n\nPreparing this post and reading Wikipedia's page on that composition, I discovered a poem by Kamau Brathwaite which I will simply copy here.\n\n“Naima” for John Coltrane\n\nPropped against the crowded bar\nhe pours into the curved and silver horn\nhis old unhappy longing for a home\n\nthe dancers twist and turn\nhe leans and wishes he could burn\nhis memories to ashes like some old notorious emperor\n\nof rome, but no stars blazed across the sky when he was born\nno wise men found his hovel, this crowded bar\nwhere dancers twist and turn\n\nholds all the fame and recognition he will ever earn\non earth or heaven, he leans against the bar\nand pours his old unhappy longing in the saxophone.\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPAC6zt_1ZM",
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