AG Rojas has created the first ever official music video for jazz legend John Coltrane’s spiritual masterpiece - one of the most important and influential jazz records ever made - by returning to the hallowed studio where it was recorded in 1964.

Created in honour of the centenary of Coltrane's birth, Rojas's video for Acknowlegement, the opening and most iconic movement of the album-length suite A Love Supreme, was filmed at the legendary Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 

But rather than reconstruct the magical recording with musicians or actors, Rojas turns the space itself into the main character of the film. It becomes the foundation from which the viewer's imagination can run free as Coltrane's divine music plays.

It's an audacious approach, but by focussing on the details, with superb black and white cinematography from Shawn Peters, Rojas's underlines the majesty and beauty of Coltane's recording by capturing the studio's unique character. 

“When I arrived at Van Gelder Studio for the first time on a May morning, there were no words, just a shared, awestruck look between my friend and collaborator Shawn Peters and me," explains Rojas.

"The studio is hidden down a long, tree-lined driveway, flanked now by two nondescript office buildings. You feel the space before you see it. But when you step into the studio, you are immediately welcomed into a world that honours nature as well as nature’s sacred geometry. Along with some recording gear,instruments, and ephemera that transport you through time.

"For the film, we attempted to imagine what that December night in 1964 may have felt like as John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones recorded A Love Supreme. Not exactly what it looked like (though a lot of the original recording equipment remains), but something more like the spiritual residue of their presence and sound. 

"I grew up playing saxophone in jazz bands, so the concepts of improvisation and collaboration are familiar to me (and crucial when it comes to filmmaking). That is how our cinematographer Shawn; our production designer Emmeline E. Wilks Dupoise; my producer Grace Campos and our crew approached the day. We listened to music, laughed, broke bread, and improvised with a 16mm camera all day and night in this very special place: together.”