John Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme' Certified Platinum 56 Years After Release

John and Alice Coltrane's son and daughter, Ravi and Michelle

Coltrane, were presented with a platinum plaque in honor of their

father's achievement at The John & Alice Coltrane Home in Dix

Hills, Long Island, N.Y., where John Coltrane composed the

four-part suite.

It took 56 years, but John Coltrane's spiritual jazz masterpiece, "A Love Supreme", has been certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of 1 million albums in the U.S. 

Recorded in one session on Dec. 9, 1964, at Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, with Coltrane's classic quartet – pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones —the iconic album is the first jazz LP of the 1960s to achieve platinum status.

Released in 1965 "A Love Supreme" was an instant best-seller for  Impulse! Records and received a Grammy nomination.

"We are thrilled and humbled to witness this incredible milestone in our father's recorded legacy," John's son Ravi said in a statement released by the record company. "I believe both John and Alice would be very proud of this achievement. We take great pride knowing new generations continue to discover this album and that the music continues to speak to their souls."

In celebration of the accomplishment, Impulse! Records/UMe today has released a digital-only collection titled "A Love Supreme: The Platinum Collection," which brings together all commercially released versions of the suite of music. The collection begins with the original album, continues with a live 1965 recording from Antibes, France, followed by the newly released A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle, also recorded in 1965. The package ends with outtakes and alternative takes from the previously released A Love Supreme: The Complete Masters from 2015.

"John Coltrane is one of the most important artists of the 20th century and A Love Supreme, is his masterwork," UMe President & CEO, Bruce Resnikoff, said, "We are thrilled to celebrate this milestone and that the album continues to find new listeners more than five decades after its release."

Christopher Williams Representative Denies Al B. Sure's Claims Cousin is in Coma

When one of the kings of New Jack Swing, Al B. Sure, posted a picture of himself with his cousin, Christopher Williams, on Instagram yesterday, claiming the latter was in a coma it drew an outpouring of support from fans and celebrities alike for Williams, a nephew of jazz icon Ella Fitgerald, who enjoyed success on the R&B charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s with songs like "Talk to Myself,” “I’m Dreamin’,” “Promises, Promises,” and “Every Little Thing You Do.”

"Please pray for my better-looking twin brother in a coma," Sure wrote. 

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The post drew well wishes and calls for prayer from several celebrities, including Big Daddy Kane, Bill Bellamy, MC Lyte, Terry Crews, Melba Moore and many more, but by Tuesday night a statement given by a representative over Williams’ own Instagram account denied the 54-year-old singer was in coma and said he was, "resting comfortably and in stable condition," without further clarifying his medical condition.

The nature of Williams' illness has not been disclosed at this time. 

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Nas Enters the Podcast Wars With 'The Bridge: 50 Years of Hip Hop'

Rap's unofficial poet laureate of the 90s is teaming up with the person that helped define his early musical legacy to launch a podcast that the duo believes will help close the gap between hip-hop artists and fans as it explores the ways in which the art form has influenced society over the past 50 years.

Nas, whose debut album "Illmatic," partially on strength of a then almost unheard of five-mic review (image below) from industry bible "The Source," propelled him firmly into the pantheon of hip-hop gods — is teaming up with Minya “Miss Info” Oh, who wrote the review under her former alias Shortie, to launch "The Bridge: 50 Years of Hip Hop."

Photo Credit: "The Source" 

“This is our opportunity to go deep and explore how hip-hop went from the microphones, turntables, and sound systems to big business and a worldwide cultural phenomenon,”  said Nas of the project in a recently released teaser from Spotify and Nas' company Mass Appeal. They have partnered to bring it to fruition as part of the Hip Hop 50 campaign that Nas told Variety is, "a multi-tier initiative, created by Mass Appeal [in partnership with CBS Viacom], and we built this platform to ensure the anniversary of hip-hop is celebrated in a real iconic way, and that everybody should be involved with this."

Miss Info said working with Nas on the podcast brings their path full-circle and there's nothing more fulfilling or fun than working with the Grammy winner, but she noted that the most special thing about the podcast is the conversations. 

"Our guests open up to Nas and I, about the way they approach life, the way they reconcile their pasts, and in many cases, the shared history between Nas and these fellow artists," she said. "We’re having a blast and I think it shows.”