Alice Coltrane

Good morning.

Today we’re listening to Alice Coltrane, an American multi-instrumentalist and bandleader from Detroit. She exhibited prodigious talent at a young age, and went on to play in her husband John’s second quartet until his death in 1967.¹ Over the next few years, she pursued her own spiritual path and practiced with Swami Satchidananda in India.² A few weeks after returning to the States, in February 1971, Coltrane gave an instrumental performance at Carnegie Hall.³ 53 years later, The Carnegie Hall Concert live album is out. Coltrane primarily plays harp and piano, accompanied by Pharoah Sanders on saxophone and Jimmy Garrison on bass, among other notables.⁴ We’re also playing Kirtan: Turiya Sings, a collection of bhajans recorded at her Sai Anantam ashram in California. That record was originally released in 1982 and was reissued in 2021; “Jai Ramachandra” featured prominently in the recent TV show The Curse.

The Carnegie Hall Concert - Alice Coltrane (80m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Tidal

Kirtan: Turiya Sings - Alice Coltrane (60m, vocals throughout)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Tidal

Have a really good Thursday.

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