Alice Coltrane - S/D

Living With The Spirit And Legacy Of JOHN COLTRANE

THE white brick ranch-styled house is tucked inconspicuously behind black wrought-iron gates in Woodland Hills, Calif. Inside, Alice Coltrane, an accomplished jazz musician, sits quietly at the piano, glancing at the photograph of her late husband, the legendary saxophonist, John Coltrane.

It's been more than 20 years since Coltrane's death, and yet the memories are vivid and strong as thoughts of him still consume her.

"I can't miss him," she says. "He's here. I feel him here."

John Coltrane, long considered ahead of his time musically, was one of the jazz world's most innovative musicians. He worked with such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Thelonius Monk early in his career. Known as "Trane" to his friends, he went on to form his own band in the 1950s, playing radical harmonic and melodic changes that some music critics called "sheets of sound."

For four years, John and Alice Coltrane lived as husband and wife, creating "avant garde" jazz until Coltrane's untimely death in 1967. He died from liver cancer at the age of 41. Coltrane's influence over Alice, much like the musical idolatry from his fans, is remarkably strong.

Alice Coltrane claims to have spoken to her dead husband. "I see him physically in my room while I'm in a transcendental state," she says.

The first time she saw Coltrane, she says, was about a month after he died. "I was sitting in my bedroom meditating when the door opened and Coltrane walked in. He had an instrument that looked like the soprano sax he used to play," she recalls. "He was playing it. Sometimes he looked better than when he was alive."

She saw her husband on occasion over a 12-year period, Mrs. Coltrane says. It's been nine years now since she last spoke to John, and she believes it's because he's been reincarnated and is living in his next life.

She admits that many people may find her accounts to be unlikely. "I know people don't understand or believe what I'm saying," she says. "All I can say to them is to mediate and find out for themselves."

Alice McLeod Coltrane was born in Detroit in 1937, growing up in a musical family. She became an accomplished pianist, studying under the jazz pianist Bud Powell and later playing with major musicians.

In 1963, she met John coltrane in a jazz club in Europe, and what began as professional adoration soon gave way to romance. The two were married a year later, and Alice joined her husband's band in 1966 replacing pianist McCoy Tyner. Both Coltrane and his wife became deeply religious and began studying the music and religions of the East--especially India.

It seems ironic that the woman, once intensely devoted to her music, has cast it aside for what she calls "the path of devotion and understanding." She stopped touring extensively 12 years ago and cut herself off from most of her friends. "Some of it was due to location and distance," she offers. "With some, I just didn't call or correspond."

Now, Mrs. Coltrane keeps herself busy with the Vedantic Center, a spiritual center she founded 14 years ago in Agoura, Calif. As the center's director, she holds the title of swami. She also produces a spiritual half-hour television program, which is shown in the spring on Los Angeles' Channel 18.

Although she no longer performs regularly, Mrs. Coltrane carries on her late husband's music through the "John Coltrane Festival." The festival, which is funded through Coltrane's estate, highlights the work and talents of young musicians.

The Coltrane children have followed in their parents' musical footsteps. Michelle, 28; Ravi, 23, and Oran, 21, live in the Los Angeles area, spending their time studying and developing music and frequently attending their mother's spiritual services at the center. (The couple's first born son, John Jr., died in 1982).

She doesn't spend too much time in the "music room," which seems more like a shrine to her fallen hero. The room is the exact replica of the music room in the couple's former home in New York. Everything is in place, the grand piano, the Persian rugs, the many African instruments and Coltrane's numerous awards. Ironically, there is not a single saxophone in the room. One of his saxophones is stored in a back room of the house. The others are used by his sons and a nephew.

For Mrs. Coltrane there are many pleasant memories of her late husband, and for those reasons, she never remarried. "I don't know that I'd want to live in the proximity with less a man," she says... "I could never marry again."

There is talk of recording and performing again. Alice hasn't done so in 12 years. But more than anything else, she longs for others to appreciate Coltrane's musical accomplishments as much as she does. "John needed to take music to a new level," she says. "That's why when you listen to John Coltrane, you hear everything. Everything was in his music. That's why it's important for people to never forget the contributions he made."

COPYRIGHT 1989 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

Tyler's link above is well worth looking at. The obit and article quoted above are a bit prosaic, aren't they?

Links to more writing on Alice Coltrane, or more obituaries, would be welcome, if anyone has any.

I listened to Eternity again last night, not having heard it for ages, and Om Supreme (which is just piano and voices) is wonderful. For someone completely anti-religious, I find stuff like this really powerful and affecting. I even love the sleeve notes, which in any other context I would dismiss as complete crap.

Jamie, I agree with you that the religious aspect of her music is not at all off-putting. It might sound a little wacky at times (to a nonbeliever), but it's never anything less than totally welcoming. Her spirituality comes across as a really individual, invigorating thing--like the best gospel music, I suppose.

Well do I remember Bobby Gillespie getting into trouble because he tried to exchange his milk tokens for a copy of A Monastic Trio on the day of its release. He got a good skelpin'!

She played a lot around Detroit before the Gibbs band, but her daughter Michelle (who I also got to meet when they were here) said that recording oppt'y was rare for a woman with a small child. Yusef Lateef (who she played with here) used to drive to NY to record and turn around & drive right back. Usually 5 guys in an Econoline van. No room for momma & baby, really.

We are so glad we got to see her play last September. We thought she'd be around a lot longer, but you never know.

A Monastic Trio is probably my favorite.

I bought "Elements" based on the recommendations on this thread, and I'm really enjoying it: the semi-slow hypnotic groove, the freeish but soulful playing, the echo and tape effects... Are there any other Henderson or Alice Coltrane LPs that would sound like this? I already have "Journey to Satchidananda".

I can't speak to Henderson's records from this time, but "Elements" isn't really a typical Alice set. However, I would recommend any of her albums as worth hearing. But if you're looking for the next one you should get, seek "Ptah the El Daoud" which features Joe H and Pharoah Sanders as a double tenor front line.

maybe check out 'Lawrence of Newark' by Larry Young.

or Herbie's "Mwandishi"

Mwandishi is an excellent suggestion--the 2 disc CD is a bargain.

I already have Crossings and Sextant, and I've been meaning to get Mwandishi for years... That Larry Young album sounds very interesting too, I think I'll check that one and Ptah the El Daoud when I visit the local jazz store next time. Thanks for the recommendations!

You may also wish to get Eddie Henderson's "Anthonology Vol.2", which contains the albums "Realization" and "Inside Out". The lineup is more or less the same as on Mwandishi, if I remember correctly.
You may want to look at the kozmigroov a-list.
Recently I've dusted off a few of these (after my initial kozmi-kick in 2003 or so) and been particularly fond of Don Cherry's "Brown Rice".

I suppose Pharoah Sanders' albums are probably the best next bet after Alice Coltrane, if you haven't got those already.

I would always turn off Ptah after 10 minutes because I felt like it wasn't going anywhere, and because it was all listed as one track I just assumed it was 40 minutes riffing on the same idea.

Imagine my surprise this week when I let it play to the 12th minute.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 this record now

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=140743198&m=140701953
^^^ alice's piano jazz interview/peformance. really great.

wow, just got to the bit where she's jamming a Chopin prelude, beautiful playing.

Is there any way to download that? Besides recording it?

this is where i first got it -- link still works! http://ileoxumare.blogspot.com/2008/03/marian-mcpartlands-piano-jazz-with.html

Thanks!!!!

been jamming the cassette-only divine songs from 1987 and it is blowing my mind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvliDHTvxTQ

someone told me there is an LP of this album floating around -- is it a bootleg or something? they should really put out this stuff in more readily available form, it is very good.

Laura Veirs pays tribute on her (awesome) new album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyEOt-qjNH0

xp discogs says divine songs got a cd release, and a recent unofficial lp release.

yeah I heard abt the vinyl boot, didn't know abt the CD

either way this is quickly becoming one of my faves by her, on some kinda cosmic-stax/volt-moroder trip over here

cd reissue please

According to this blog post, there are actually four devotional releases.

Active link to the first of them, "Turiya Sings," imo the best thing she ever did:

http://rootstrata.com/rootblog/?p=4463

HOLD THE PRESSES

http://www.innerpath.com/divine-songs-cd/

They have this one too...I wonder if they take Paypal?
http://www.innerpath.com/infinite-chants-cd/

they do! but it's out of stock

ordered a copy of divine songs before you vultures have a chance to make it disappear

divine songs out of stock now as well

guilty as charged ;)

My copies have already shipped...

mine too, krishna is totally on top of the logistics over there

wonder if they're meditating on the origins of this sudden surge in turiyasangitananda demand

never really investigated the post-impulse period before. looks like there was a devotional-style release on warners in '76 called radha-krsna nama sankirtana... which is actually on spotify....

yah i used to have that on LP, kinda wish I still did

in general I prefer harp to Rhodes, though

I really like that piano thing she did as a radio broadcast too

radha-krsna nama sankirtana

B side of this is kind of an awesome organs/drums duet with Alice and one of her sons.

yeah the marian mcpartland radio thing kills, giant steps duet is heavenly

btw I can't link it right now but googling for the tape above led me to a blog with a mix called Saved from the fire compiling some of these releases, which sounds good so far

anybody care to re-up that radio piano thing

I tweeted that a month or so ago
http://www.npr.org/2011/09/23/140743198/alice-coltrane-on-piano-jazz

thx man... when I clicked on the previous NPR link it looked like it had disappeared...

here's a link to the saved from a fire devotional mix schlump mentioned

http://dublab.com/rbma-radio-saved-from-the-fire-the-ashram-tapes-of-alice-coltrane-by-frosty/

but it really just scratches the surface and lacks some of the more jaw-dropping moments from these albums IMO

lost in a turiyasangitananda k-hole rn

looks like there was a devotional-style release on warners in '76 called radha-krsna nama sankirtana

I have that on CD (on the Wounded Bird label). This guy right here. It's really good.