Alice Coltrane Complete Warner Bros. Studio Works

[felser]

Details below from the Real Gone Music newsletter email:

 

Now, to more serious musical matters. It is our great honor and privilege to present to you Alice Coltrane: Spiritual Eternal-The Complete Warner Bros. Studio Recordings, a 2-CD set we have created in cooperation with the Coltrane estate. Featuring notes by Coltrane scholar Ashley Kahn, and produced by Real Gone's own Gordon Anderson together with acclaimed jazz reissue producer Zev Feldman, this collection brings together for the first time the three albums-Eternity, Radha-Krsna Nama Sankirtana, and Transcendence-that Alice recorded for Warner Bros. in the mid-to-late '70s. Coltrane never stopped evolving as an artist, and this is some of the most challenging, spiritual, and, ultimately, rewarding work of her career, as she gradually left the jazz world behind to focus on the devotional Hindi music she was creating at her Southern California ashram. Her sound anchored by the otherworldly sounds of 1971 Wurlitzer 805 Centura, whose pitch-bending ability allowed her to echo the sounds of the harmonium that is used widely in Eastern music, Coltrane (who adopted the name Turiyasangitananda or Turiya for short by the end of her tenure at Warner Bros.) created a unique fusion of raga, qawwali, jazz, African-American gospel, and even classical that has to be heard. Spiritual Eternal-The Complete Warner Bros. Studio Recordings offers a fresh examination of this groundbreaking work, inside a sumptuous digipak package that pays homage to one of the most fearless and uncompromising figures in modern jazz.

[jlhoots]

Upon further deliberation - preordered.

[felser]

53 minutes ago, jlhoots said:

Upon further deliberation - preordered.

And I'll grab it when importcds has it available on ebay (20% off $60 and free shipping when you order from them there).

[gvopedz]

2 hours ago, felser said:

Details below from the Real Gone Music newsletter email:

Coltrane (who adopted the name Turiyasangitananda or Turiya for short by the end of her tenure at Warner Bros.)

By the end of the tenure?  She's Turiya Alice Coltrane on the album (Illuminations) that she recorded with Carlos Santana.  The album appeared around September 1974.

[felser]

9 minutes ago, gvopedz said:

By the end of the tenure?  She's Turiya Alice Coltrane on the album (Illuminations) that she recorded with Carlos Santana.  The album appeared around September 1974.

All I did was copy/past the Real Gone blurb!  Anyways, in addition to this, be sure to pick up 'Transfiguration', her great live trio date with Reggie Workman and Roy Haynes.  Features a 37-minute version of "Leo".

[mikeweil]

Slightly off topic - has anyone heard this live recording:

" On Sunday, February 21st, 1971, a benefit was held in New York's Carnegie Hall for Swami Satchidanda's Integral Yoga Institute, featuring Laura Nyro, the New Rascals and Alice Coltrane's All-Stars. The latter band was a remarkable coming-together of talent, with Lady Trane joined by legends such as Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp and Jimmy Garrison on stupendous form (with a little assistance from members of the Yoga Institute). The astounding performance of John Coltrane's Africa on this set, broadcast on WQXR-FM, finds them improvising thrillingly, and is accompanied by background notes and images.

Alice Coltrane (piano, harp)
Pharoah Sanders (tenor sax, soprano sax, flute, percussion, fife)
Archie Shepp (tenor sax, soprano sax, percussion)
Tulsi (tamboura)
Kumar Kramer (harmonium)
Jimmy Garrison (bass)
Cecil McBee (bass)
Clifford Jarvis (drums)
Ed Blackwell (drums) "

1 hour ago, gvopedz said:

By the end of the tenure?  She's Turiya Alice Coltrane on the album (Illuminations) that she recorded with Carlos Santana.  The album appeared around September 1974.

That album, btw, was reissued as SACD on Dutton Vocalion. 

[JSngry]

The New Rascals? Any idea who was on the gig? That’s still a blur, those last Rascals albums, would love to hear what that was live, just to find out.

[mjzee]

45 minutes ago, JSngry said:

The New Rascals? Any idea who was on the gig? That’s still a blur, those last Rascals albums, would love to hear what that was live, just to find out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peaceful_World_(album)

[JSngry]

Right, I know thse records, just not sure if they actually played live, and if so, with who? There's a lot of studio players on those records.

[felser]

1 hour ago, mjzee said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peaceful_World_(album)

The core group was Cavaliere, Dinelli, Buzzy Feiten, Annie Sutton and/or Molly Holt, and Robert Popwell.  That was probably the touring group. I can't find anything specific on the touring group for that era.  'Peaceful World' has some great moments, but I can live my remaining years quite comfortably without hearing 'Search and Nearness' and 'Island of Real' again.  On a different note, I've heard that version of 'Africa' and it's tremendous, but makes for a very short (and legally grey) CD, under 30 minutes, and the sound is not particularly good (though certainly listenable).  

[JSngry]

Wondering what, if any, woodwinds were used on that Rascals Carnegie Hall gig. Seems like Hubert Laws was involved with them on their records, often soloing a length (relatively speaking).

I'm not up on my Laura Nyro, but this albums has a very interesting personnel, which almost sounds like the people on that gig had already been involved, probably in the same spiritual circles: https://www.discogs.com/Laura-Nyro-Christmas-And-The-Beads-Of-Sweat/release/1047909

It also looks like Laura Nyro made an Atlantic album for Coulmbia!

[felser]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

Wondering what, if any, woodwinds were used on that Rascals Carnegie Hall gig. Seems like Hubert Laws was involved with them on their records, often soloing a length (relatively speaking).

I'm not up on my Laura Nyro, but this albums has a very interesting personnel, which almost sounds like the people on that gig had already been involved, probably in the same spiritual circles: https://www.discogs.com/Laura-Nyro-Christmas-And-The-Beads-Of-Sweat/release/1047909

It also looks like Laura Nyro made an Atlantic album for Coulmbia!

Thankfully, Columbia seemed to realize what they had in Nyro, and gave her a lot of freedom.  Great writer ("Eli's Coming", "Stoned Soul Picnic", "Wedding Bell Blues", "Stoney End" , etc.), but even more a very wonderful singer.  Her first batch of Columbia albums are awesome, and the second batch (more jazz-oriented) are really good, though not as iconic.  The girl-group album with Labelle is a very moving listening experience.

 

Edited August 31, 2018 by felser

[JSngry]

Don't remember where I bought it, or when, or why, but I've been listening to the Sepia Tome issue of Transfiguration most of this morning, and that is about as good an Alice Coltrane record as there is in terms of it being a "jazz record". BURNING!!!!

[felser]

43 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Don't remember where I bought it, or when, or why, but I've been listening to the Sepia Tome issue of Transfiguration most of this morning, and that is about as good an Alice Coltrane record as there is in terms of it being a "jazz record". BURNING!!!!

And the Reggie Workman/Roy Haynes rhythm section doesn't hurt in that regard, either ,

[JSngry]

Well, no of course not!

But those could be just names, I mean Alice made plenty of records with a lot of "names" and they didn't get here, to this place.

I slept on that record for a looooong time, not because I was anti-Alice (not at all), but I just figured that she had said all she was going to say and that this would be more of it only in a trio setting.

Well, no. So much more than that.

Plus, you know, there's always been this contingent of "Alice Coltrane couldn't really play shit blahblahblah that is really....whatever. I want those people to listen to this record, it's very much a trio of equals, Alice is feeding them and they are feeding her and it's just...playing. Very much everybody fully engaged, no equivocation from anybody about anything.