Lonnie’s Lament

John Coltrane (tenor sax), McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums). From the album Crescent (1964).

Lonnie had lost his wife in his house, a natural death. She already had a certain age and it’s the law of life. He still remembers how they fell in love. At first she didn’t want to have a relationship because they had no experience, but in the end he convinced her with his charms. They had married young and had two beautiful children together. He still remembers the childhood of each of them and the adolescent stages with their ups and downs. Then college came along and luckily they two were both good students. First the youngest one, George, who was the smartest with the girls, got married, and then Joseph. Now they are a one big family, but the rocking chair she loved so much rocking in will be empty forever.

Coltrane starts accompanied by the rest of the group with a sad melody. Grief can be felt in the air. At the funeral, Tyner offers his condolences to the widower. He feels the loss of such a well-known person. Then Garrison begins a long solo, as if he were the person most affected by the woman’s death. He’s just expressing his feelings. His words are not the most eloquent, but they are the most heartfelt. He tells anecdotes that he had with her, he is very saddened and everyone listens to him attentively. Coltrane comes back with the opening melody describing the situation and ending with condolences.

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© Impulse! Records