In the years after husband John’s death in July 1967, Alice Coltrane began a spiritual voyage that took her towards Hindu spirituality and eventually the opening of her own ashram in California. On 21 February 1971 she took to the stage at Carnegie Hall in New York at a benefit for Swami Satchidananda’s Integral Yoga Institute, her first live concert as a leader; Laura Nyro and The New Rascals also appeared. Her band included such John Coltrane luminaries as Pharoah Sanders and Jimmy Garrison, as well as others associated with his music, notably Archie Shepp and Ed Blackwell. This was a benefit for a cause, but also a stage for Alice Coltrane.
The concert was in two distinct halves. The first two pieces, written by Alice Coltrane, were the opening tracks on her new album Journey In Satchidananda, which had been released merely a week before the concert, and were thus unknown to almost the entire audience. The second half featured two pieces by John Coltrane: Africa from the Africa/Brass album released in 1961, and Leo, which although recorded in February 1967 as part of the Interstellar Space session had not yet been released and was known only through live performances. So, in effect, only one of the four pieces performed was in the least familiar to the audience. Not that you would know that from the reception given to this extraordinary music.
A two bass-led opening slowly introduces Journey In Satchidananda before Coltrane’s harp sets the dominant incantatory mood. Sanders’ vocalised flute adds to the texture while Shepp’s soprano brings a more bluesy feel. The album version lasted 6.35 minutes; this live version is more than twice as long as its gently rolls on towards infinity. A similarly lengthened and equally blissful Shiva-Loka (“realm of Shiva”) sees both saxophonists on soprano, Blackwell and Jarvis delivering a regal pulse to keep the music grounded.
So far, Coltrane had played a textural, supportive role from the harp, but on the final two pieces, she changes to piano, the two saxophonists to tenor, the quietly meditative mood replaced now by intense performance. The revelation is Alice on piano, notably on the final Leo, where her fervent, ringing chords give way to breakneck runs and fractured, sustaining chords. And on Africa, her forceful re-emergence near the end reminds us just who is in control, as she corrals the squalling saxophonists together.
The sound quality of some of this music is not that good, as the original four-track master tapes were lost, forcing the use of a two-track reference mix, but the effect suffers not one bit. Alice Coltrane has often sat in the shadows, her important contributions demeaned or ignored. There is no excuse for such attitudes any longer, for in this triumphant delivery of both spiritual and ecstatic jazz, she reigns supreme.
Discography
CD1: Journey In Satchidananda; Shiva-Loka (29.42)
CD2: Africa; Leo (49.43)
Coltrane (p, hp); Pharoah Sanders (ts, ss, f, fife, pc); Archie Shepp (ts, ss, pc); Tulsi (tamboura); Kumar Kramer (harm); Jimmy Garrison, Cecil McBee (b); Ed Blackwell, Clifford Jarvis (d). Carnegie Hall, NYC, 21 February 1971.
Impulse! 602458828689
