ALICE COLTRANE

♫♫ALICE COLTRANE: Alice McLeod studied classical music and had piano lessons with Bud Powell. She also occupies the position of one of Jazz’s best-known harpists and also imports the rippling glissando and arpeggiated stylisations into her piano playing, called ‘waterfalls’ by some. She was a member of vibraphonist Terry Gibbs’ band before replacing McCoy Tyner in husband John’s quartet. Coltrane’s deeply spiritual music, inspired by a pilgrimage to India in 1970 is an acquired taste, her best known release being Journey in Satchidananda (1970) with Pharaoh Sanders on soprano sax, Charlie Haden and Cecil McBee sharing the bass duties, an oud player and various percussionists including her husband’s drummer Rashied Ali. She appears on some of John’s 1966-1967 albums, most notably on Live At The Village Vanguard Again! (1966). Also within our time period are the 1966 album A Monastic Trio and Ptah The El Daoud (1970). Alice Coltrane’s music has become more widely known thanks to 2 on 1 CD releases Universal Consciousness/ Lord of Lords and Huntington Asram Monastery/ World Galaxy (both 2011 on Impulse!). In 2017 Turiyasangitananda- The Ecstatic Music of Alice Turiasangitananda, a collection of Negro spirituals, Hindu praise songs and chants, was released on the Luaka Bop label as an informative well presented package on CD and 2 x LP. In 2018 Spiritual Eternal: Complete Warner Brothers Recordings came out on a 2 CD package with a 24 page booklet on Real Gone Music. Alice also played a Wurlitzer organ and collaborated with Carlos Santana on Illuminations (1974) following her album, The Elements with Joe Henderson. She has collaborated with sons Ravi and Oranm both saxophonists in their own right. In an interview with Jazzwise magazine she said that John Coltrane’s music was often misunderstood and that there was “not violence but thunder” in his music which was a force for healing, a force for a better world of eternal light. (Jazzwise Dec 04/ Jan 05 p 42-43).

Recommended recent albums: Kirtan Turiya Sings (Impulse 60) ; the Carnegie Hall Concert (Impulse!)