Alice Coltrane

Infobox musical artist
Name = Alice Coltrane

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Img_capt = Photo by Filipe Ferreira
Img_size =
Landscape = yes
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Alice McLeod
Alias =
Born = birth date|1937|8|27 Detroit, Michigan, United States
Died = death date and age|2007|1|12|1937|8|27
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Origin =
Instrument = piano, organ, harp
Genre = Jazz, avant-garde jazz
Occupation = bandleader, composer, sideman
Years_active = 1962–2006
Label = Impulse! Columbia Warner Bros. Records
Associated_acts = John Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders
URL = [http://www.alicecoltrane.org/ Alicecoltrane.org]
Current_members =
Past_members =

Alice Coltrane (neé McLeod) (August 27 1937 – January 12 2007) was an American jazz pianist, organist, harpist, composer, and the wife of John Coltrane.

Biography

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Coltrane studied classical music, and was given piano lessons by Bud Powell. She began playing jazz as a professional in Detroit, with her own trio and as a duo with vibist Terry Pollard. From 1962 to 1963 she played with Terry Gibbs's quartet, during which time she met John Coltrane. She replaced McCoy Tyner as pianist with John Coltrane's group in 1965. She married Coltrane in 1966, and continued playing with the band until his death in 1967. John Coltrane became stepfather to Alice's daughter Michelle, and the couple had three children: drummer John Jr., and saxophonists Oran and Ravi. John Jr. died in a car crash in 1982.

After John Coltrane (Sr.)'s death she continued to play with her own groups, moving into more and more meditative music, and later playing with her children. She was one of the few harpists in the history of jazz. Her essential recordings were made in the late 1960s and early 1970s for Impulse! Records.

Coltrane was a devotee of the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba. [cite web|url=http://www.saiquest.com/html/swamini.html|title=Swamini A. C. Turiyasangitananda|accessdate=2007-06-09|work=Sai Anantam Ashram] In 1972, Coltrane moved to California, where she established the Vedantic Center (see Vedanta) in 1975. [NewGroveJazz2002|Alice Coltrane|Hazell, Ed|i|494] By the late 1970s she had changed her name to Turiyasangitananda. [cite album-notes|title=Transfiguration|albumlink=|bandname=Coltrane, Alice|year=1978|format=CD liner notes|pages=|publisher=Sepiatone|publisherid=STONE01|location=Burbank, California|mbid=60ffc973-5d08-48ea-90d8-9ced6228a840 Coltrane wrote the liner notes as Turiyasangitananda. She had written liner notes as Turiya Aparna for "Universal Consciousness" (1971).] Coltrane was the spiritual director, or swamini, of Shanti Anantam Ashram (later renamed Sai Anantam Ashram in Chumash Pradesh) which The Vedantic Center established in 1983 near Malibu, California. [cite web|url=http://www.saiquest.com/html/background.html|title=Background|accessdate=2007-06-09|work=Sai Anantam Ashram] On rare occasions, she continued to perform publicly under the name Alice Coltrane.Allmusicguide|id=11:avfwxqr5ldse~T1|label=Biography] [http://www.sfjazz.org/concerts/2006/fall/artists/AliceColtrane.asp Alice Coltrane Quartet featuring Ravi Coltrane with Charlie Haden & Roy Haynes] . "SFJAZZ". Retrieved on 25 May 2007.]

The 1990s saw renewed interest in her work, which led to the release of the compilation "Astral Meditations", and in 2004 she released her comeback album "Translinear Light". Following a twenty-five-year break from major public performances, she returned to the stage for three U.S. appearances in the fall of 2006, culminating on November 4 with a concert in San Francisco with her son Ravi, drummer Roy Haynes, and bassist Charlie Haden.

Alice Coltrane died of respiratory failure at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in suburban Los Angeles.

Coltrane is a great-aunt to the Californian music producer Flying Lotus né Steven Ellison, [cite web |url=http://www.beyondjazz.net/viewtopic.php?t=12629=2007-02-14 |title=Interview – Flying Lotus |work=oemebamo] who is known for his organic texture and cinematic feel to his work.

Paul Weller dedicated his song "Song For Alice (Dedicated to the Beautiful Legacy of Mrs. Coltrane),"from his album "22 Dreams", to Coltrane.

Discography

*"A Monastic Trio" (1967)
*"Huntington Ashram Monastery" (1969)
*"Ptah, the El Daoud" (1970)
*"Journey in Satchidananda" (1970)
*"Universal Consciousness" (1972)
*"World Galaxy" (1972)
*"Lord of Lords" (1973)
*"" (1973)
*"Reflection on Creation and Space (a Five Year View)" (1973)
*"Illuminations" (1974) with Carlos Santana
*"Eternity" (1975)
*"Radha-Krisna Nama Sankirtana" (1976)
*"Transcendence" (1977)
*"Transfiguration" (1978)
*"Turiya Sings" (1982)
*"Divine Songs" (1987)
*"Infinite Chants" (1990)
*"The Music of Alice Coltrane: Astral Meditations" (1999)
*"Translinear Light" (2004)
*"The Impulse Story" (2006)

References

External links

* [http://www.alicecoltrane.org/ Official website]
* [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=5848 Alice Coltrane] at All About Jazz
*Allmusicguide|id=11:y2fe4j670way~T1
* [http://members.aol.com/ishorst/love/discalice.html Alice Coltrane discography]
* [http://www.newyorknighttrain.com/2007/01/15/alice-coltraine-rip/ In-depth Alice Coltrane obituary with a record-by-record overview of her career] from NewYorkNightTrain.com
* [http://www.indypendent.org/?p=735 Last Song For Alice Coltrane , The Indypendent, Steven Wishnia]
* [http://rbmaradio.com/ARCHIVE.153.0.php?extID=0&showID=427 RBMA Radio On Demand - Sound Obsession - Volume 7 - Tribute to Alice Coltrane - Kirk Degiorgio (The Beauty Room, As One)]
* [http://ascentmagazine.com/articles.aspx?articleID=185&page=read&subpage=past&issueID=29 Alice in Wonder and Awe] . An interview at ascentmagazine.com on jazz, God and the spiritual path.
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15394451 Alice Coltrane at NPR Music]