Alabama

This is a section of Steve Rowland’s radio documentary “Tell Me How Long Trane’s Been Gone”. Produced/directed by Rowland, written by Larry Abrams and narrated by Michael S. Harper. The composition “Alabama” was released in 1963 shortly after the horrific murder of 4 Little Girls in a church in Birmingham, AL. Some jazz writers have claimed that the tune is NOT about these 4 girls. We disagree and think this shows that Coltrane might have memorized parts of Martin Luther King’s moving eulogy and based his composition on the words. See what you think!