Alice Coltrane Select Discography 1
Recordings as a Leader
John and Alice Coltrane: COSMIC MUSIC Impulse! Records 1968. AS-9148. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD Japan Only. Track list Manifestation Lord Help Me To Be* Reverend King The Sun* Musicians Alice Coltrane, piano John Coltrane, sax, clarinet, invocation Pharoah Sanders, flute, sax, invocation Ben Riley, drums, perc Rashied Ali, drums, perc Jimmy Garrison, bass Ray Appleton, percussion Capsule Info: A posthumous tribute to John Coltrane and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Two tracks feature the late John, and two the Alice Coltrane/Pharoah Sanders grouping only. *Two tracks appear on US CD reissue of Alice Coltrane's A MONASTIC TRIO. A MONASTIC TRIO Impulse! Records 1968. AS-9156. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD Japan*. Track list Ohnedaruth Gospel Trane I Want To See You Lovely Sky Boat Oceanic Beloved Atomic Peace Musicians Alice Coltrane, harp, piano Pharoah Sanders, bass clarinet Ben Riley, drums Rashied Ali, drums Jimmy Garrison, bass Capsule Info: Dorothy Ashby move over: Alice Coltrane brings the jazz harp to the avant garde. This is her tribute to her late husband and his spiritual vision. *The US CD reissue is significantly augmented, so listed separately, below. A MONASTIC TRIO Impulse! Records 1968/1998. AS-9156. Produced by Alice Coltrane. CD, US version. Track list Lord, Help Me To Be The Sun Ohnedaruth Gospel Trane I Want To See You Lovely Sky Boat Oceanic Beloved Atomic Peace Altruvista Musicians Alice Coltrane, harp, piano Pharoah Sanders, bass clarinet, flute, sax Ben Riley, drums Rashied Ali, drums Jimmy Garrison, bass Capsule Info: Added to the US version of Alice's first solo outing are two cuts from COSMIC MUSIC and a prevously unreleased piano solo from the John Coltrane session that produced EXPRESSION. The new cut is rewarding, the entire package nicely arranged and a welcome domestic US release. Part of Impulse's new "The New Thing" CD Reissue series. Excellent 20-bit sound. HUNTINGTON ASHRAM MONASTERY Impulse! Records 1969. AS-9185. Producer not listed. No CD. Track list Huntington Ashram Monastery Turiya Paramahansa Lake Via Sivanandagar IHS Jaya Jaya Rama Musicians Alice Coltrane, harp, piano Ron Carter, bass Rashied Ali, drums Capsule Info: Recorded after Alice Coltrane met her future guru, Swami Satchidananda, this album shows her spirituality narrowing but deepening the focus of her expression in jazz. PTAH THE EL-DAOUD Impulse! Records 1970. AS-9196. Produced by Ed Michel. CD. Track list Ptah, The El Daoud Turiya and Ramakrishna Blue Nile Mantra Musicians Alice Coltrane, harp, piano Pharoah Sanders, sax, flute, bells Joe Henderson, sax, flute Ben Riley, drums Ron Carter, bass Capsule Info: A fairly eclectic album, moving from Mingus-like marches to the spritually meditative to a Pharoah Sanders screechfest. JOURNEY IN SATCHIDANANDA Impulse! Records 1971. AS-9203. Produced by Alice Coltrane with Ed Michel. CD. Track list Journey In Satchidananda Shiva-Loka Stopover Bombay Something About John Coltrane Isis And Osiris Musicians Alice Coltrane, harp, piano Pharoah Sanders, sax, percussion Charlie Haden, bass Rashied Ali, drums Cecil McBee, bass Vishnu Wood, oud Tulsi, tamboura Majid Shabazz, percussion Capsule Info: One of Alice's best albums. From her liner notes: "Direct inspiration for JOURNEY IN SATCHIDANANDA comes from my meeting and association with...my own beloved spiritual perceptor, Swami Satchidananda... Satchidananda means knowledge, existence, bliss....I hope that this album will be a form of meditation and a spiritual awakening for those who listen with their inner ear." UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS Impulse! Records 1972. AS-9210. Produced by Alice Coltrane and Ed Michel. No CD (To be reissued on CD in mid-2002 by Verve). Track list Universal Consciousness Battle At Armageddon Oh Allah Hare Krishna Sita Ram The Ankh Of Amen-Ra Musicians Alice Coltrane, harp, organ Jimmy Garrison, bass Jack DeJohnette, drums Clifford Jarvis, drums Rashied Ali, drums Tulsi, tamboura string quartet featuring John Blair and Leroy Jenkins Capsule Info: One of Alice's more way-out albums, the fruit of a visit to South Asia, the source of her spiritual inspiration. Alice Coltrane's organ is fierce and shrieking, sounding more like an oboe than a keyboard: no funky soul jazz here. And yet it's also deeply meditative and brooding. The string transcriptions are by, of all people, Ornette Coleman. A beautiful record. WORLD GALAXY Impulse! Records1972. AS-9218. CD Japan. Track list My Favorite Things Galaxy Around Olodumare Galaxy In Turiya Galaxy In Satchidananda A Love Supreme Musicians Alice Coltrane, keyboards, harp, tamboura Reggie Workman, bass Ben Riley, drums Elayne Jones, timpani Frank Lowe, saxophones Swami Satchidananda, voice Leroy Jenkins, violin plus string orchestra Capsule Info: Yes, the gatefold cover is by Peter Max. Alice's religious ruminations on her own and John Coltrane's work go straight out to a string-backed stratosphere. Here Alice touches on Yoruba religion (Olodumare is the Yoruba/Lucumi God) and Hindu theology. Her cover of her late husband's masterwork "A Love Supreme" opens with an invocation by her guru, Swami Satchidananda, explicating the forms of love; it moves from sweeping strings to funky back-beat and organ. Oh yeah, this album was partially recorded on my 13th birthday. LORD OF LORDS Impulse! Records 1972. AS-9224. Produced by Ed Michel. No CD. Track list Andromeda's Suffering Sri Rama Ohnedaruth Excerpts from The Firebird Lord Of Lords Going Home Musicians Alice Coltrane, harp, piano Charlie Haden, bass Ben Riley, drums plus string orchestra Capsule Info: Highlights of this spiritual orchestral masterwork include her version of the gospel/spiritual "Going Home," and her excerpt of Stravinsky's "Firebird," performed, says Alice, after a ghostly visitation by its composer who offered her musical and spiritual advice and blessings. John Coltrane: INFINITY Impulse! Records 1972. AS-9225. Produced by Alice Coltrane and Ed Michel. CD Japan Only. Track list Peace On Earth Leo Living Space Joy Musicians Alice Coltrane, harp, piano, organ, vibes, string arrangements John Coltrane, sax, clarinet Pharoah Sanders, sax, flute Rashied Ali, drums Elvin Jones, drums Oran Coltrane, drums Ray Appleton, percussion Jimmy Garrison, bass Charlie Haden, bass McCoy Tyner, piano Joan Chapman, tamboura plus strings Capsule Info: Nominally a posthumously released John Coltrane album, this wonderful disc is actually John completely presented through Alice's early 1970s mystical vision. Only John Coltrane's and portions of his quartet members' parts are original dating from previously unreleased mid-1960s performances: the bass solos, the harp and organ parts, the percussion parts, and sweeping Stravinsky-like string arrangements were overdubbed in 1972. This is not "John Coltrane with Strings," but a re-envisioned opus entirely. Some might call it heresy: I call it brilliant. Not to be missed is the psychedlic kaleidoscope cover. REFLECTION ON CREATION AND SPACE (A Five Year View) Impulse! Records 1973. AS-9232. Compilation. No CD; 2-LP set. Track list Blue Nile The Sun Galaxy Around Olodumare Galaxy In Turiya Medley: Journey In Satchidananda/Galaxy In Satchidananda Battle At Armageddon Lovely Sky Boat A Love Supreme Sri Rama Ohnedaruth Andromeda's Suffering I Want To See You Oh Allah Sita Ram The Firebird Musicians See original albums Capsule Info: A best-of Alice Coltrane's Impulse! period, with songs edited and in some cases combined from the original releases. Turiya Alice Coltrane/Devadip Carlos Santana: ILLUMINATIONS Columbia/Sony 1974/1996. Produced by Alice Coltrane, Carlos Santana and Tom Coster. CD, Europe only. Track list Guru Sri Chinmoy Aphorism Angel Of Air Angel Of Water Bliss: The Eternal Now Angel Of Sunlight Illuminations Musicians Alice Coltrane, harp, piano, organ, string arrangements Carlos Santana, guitars, perc Tom Coster, keyboards, perc David Holland, bass Jack DeJohnette, drums, perc Armando Peraza, congas Jules Broussard, flute, sax Prabuddha Phil Browne, tamboura plus strings Capsule Info: During Devadip Carlos Santana's religious period he and Alice produced this legendary collaboration: his electric guitar work against her string arrangements and spiritual transcendence. ETERNITY Warner Bros. Records 1976. Produced by Ed Michel. CD, Europe only (USA set for 2002) Track list Spiritual Eternal Wisdom Eye Los Caballos Om Supreme Morning Worship Spring Rounds (from Rite Of Spring) Musicians Alice Coltrane, keyboards, harp, tamboura, perc Charlie Haden, bass Ben Riley, drums Armando Peraza, congas Hubert Laws, flute Oscar Brashear, trumpet George Bohannon, trombone a friend (Carlos Santana), perc plus strings and horns vocal choir Capsule Info: Alice moved from Impulse! to Warner Brothers with a wildly eclectic offering recorded in 1975. As jazz was trying various ways of crossing over to pop...some successfully but most spelling deathknells for many jazz careers, Alice didn't quite sell out but she certainly crossed over...where one might not be completely sure. Two tunes (one from Stravinsky, again) are lush horn and string orchestra settings. Two tunes are meditative Eastern-sounding pieces that fifteen years later might be called New Age. The album is rounded off by her first (thought not last) use of vocals in Om Supreme, and the percussion heavy rumba-esque Los Caballos. As is customary all the tracks feature spiritual annotation and explanation. RADHA-KRSNA NAMA SANKIRTANA Warner Bros. Records 1977. Produced by Ed Michel. CD, Europe only, 2002 Track list Govinda Jai Jai Ganesha Prema Muditha Hare Krishna Om Namah Sivaya Musicians Alice Coltrane, organ, piano, harp, perc Arjuna John Coltrane Jr., drums Students of the Vedantic Center, choir & percussion Capsule Info: In a relatively spare album, side one features Alice interpreting traditional Hindu chants replete with the backing of a Hare Krishna choir, students at her Vedantic Center in California. Side two is an extended duet with one of her sons. TRANSCENDENCE Warner Bros. Records 1977. Produced by Ed Michel. CD, 2002. Track list Radhe-Shyam Vrindavana Sanchara Transcendence Sivaya Ghana Nila Bhaja Govindam Sri Nrsimha Musicians Alice Coltrane, organ, harp, tamboura, perc Satori String Quartet Sarada Devi King, lead vocals Mahashakti Williams, lead vocals Hare Krishna choir with percussion Capsule Info: More successful in my opinion than the previous vocal album, side two features Hindu chants sounding surprisingly funky accompanied by Alice's organ and the Indian percussion of the singers, the arrangements and voices sounding like Hare Krishna filtered through a gospel sensibility. Purists might balk at calling it jazz but probably the most "swinging" Alice Coltrane material since PTAH THE EL DAOUD. Side one features her trademark, by now, austere string arrangements. TRANSFIGURATION Warner Bros. Records 1978. Produced by Ed Michel. 2-CD Set, 2002. Track list Transfiguration One For The Father Prema Affinity Krishnaya Leo Musicians Alice Coltrane, organ and piano Reggie Workman, bass Roy Haynes, drums Noel Pointer, violin (on "Prema" only) Sita Coltrane, violin (on "Prema" only) plus strings (on "Prema" only) Capsule Info: Recorded live at UCLA in 1978, Alice set aside the Hare Krishna choirs and exotic instruments to a return to her early period's trio style, revisiting several of her own tunes as well as John Coltrane's way-out period opus "Leo". Deeply spiritual, but definitely jazz. TURIYA SINGS Avatar Book Institute, 1982. No producer listed. Cassette only. Track list Jagadishwar Jai Ramachandra Krishna Krishna Rama Katha Yamuna tira vihari Charanam Govinda Hari Hara Siva Pranadhana Musicians Alice Coltrane, organ, synthesizers, vocals, string arrangements Murray Adler, concertmaster Capsule Info: Recording of spiritual, devotional songs, to original music. Sung in sanskrit by Alice Coltrane (now Swamini Turiyasangitananda) herself, the songs are simple and meditative; Alice Coltrane's voice proves to be deeply affecting; heartfelt and even soulful. String arrangements on some songs, synthesizer washes and organ on others. This, like her other devotional recordings, is not jazz, but a beautiful statement of her evolution on the non-secular plane. She writes, "divine music shall always be the sound of love, the sound of peace, the sound of life, the sound of bliss." DIVINE SONGS Avatar Book Institute, 1987. Producer unknown. Cassette only. Track list unknown Musicians Alice Coltrane, organ, synthesizers, vocals, harp students of Sai Anantam Ashram, vocal chorus and percussion Capsule Info: I haven't heard this one. INFINITE CHANTS Avatar Book Institute, 1991. Producer unknown. Cassette only. Track list unknown Musicians Alice Coltrane, organ, synthesizers students of Sai Anantam Ashram, vocal chorus and percussion Capsule Info: I haven't heard this one. Alice Coltrane - Turiyasangitananda: GLORIOUS CHANTS Avatar Book Institute, 1995. No producer listed. CD and cassette. Track list Nataraja Bhaja Mana Journey To Satchidananda Atma Rama Ram Ramaya-Krishna Krishnaya Hara Siva Musicians Alice Coltrane, organ, synthesizers, arrangements Sairam Iyer, male vocal Sandhya Sanjana, female vocal Joshua, flute students of Sai Anantam Ashram, vocal chorus unknown tamboura, tabla, percussion Capsule Info: Sanskrit and English chants arranged mostly for vocal chorus with lead vocal. Devotional in nature; peaceful and meditative. The synthesizer wash backgrounds have their dramatic moments but are mostly more soothing ala new age music. Clapping and Indian percussion accompany. Dedicated to Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba. ALICE COLTRANE: PRICELESS JAZZ 20 GRP/Universal 1998. Compilation. CD. Track list Blue Nile* Turiya & Ramakrishna* Via Sivanandagar+ Shiva-Loka= Gospel Trane# Huntington Ashram Monastery+ I Want To See You# Sita Ram@ Musicians see source albums Capsule Info: An overdue compilation of tunes from several Impulse! albums: PTAH THE EL DAOUD*, HUNTINGTON ASHRAM MONASTERY+, JOURNEY IN SATCHIDANANDA=, A MONASTIC TRIO#, and UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS@. Hopefully her 1998 concert appearances will provoke Impulse! and Warner Brothers into reissuing more of her albums on CD. Finally, several hard-to-find-on-CD Alice Coltrane tracks are included in the following CD anthologies: Jazz Satellites Volume 1--Electrification, Virgin Records 1996 (Europe only) Red Hot On Impulse, MCA/GRP 1994. Alice Coltrane | Concert | Discography 1 | Discography 2 Ian's Guide | Artists | Links | Sitemap | About Us
Capsule Info: A posthumous tribute to John Coltrane and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Two tracks feature the late John, and two the Alice Coltrane/Pharoah Sanders grouping only. *Two tracks appear on US CD reissue of Alice Coltrane's A MONASTIC TRIO.
A MONASTIC TRIO Impulse! Records 1968. AS-9156. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD Japan*.
Capsule Info: Dorothy Ashby move over: Alice Coltrane brings the jazz harp to the avant garde. This is her tribute to her late husband and his spiritual vision. *The US CD reissue is significantly augmented, so listed separately, below.
A MONASTIC TRIO Impulse! Records 1968/1998. AS-9156. Produced by Alice Coltrane. CD, US version.
Capsule Info: Added to the US version of Alice's first solo outing are two cuts from COSMIC MUSIC and a prevously unreleased piano solo from the John Coltrane session that produced EXPRESSION. The new cut is rewarding, the entire package nicely arranged and a welcome domestic US release. Part of Impulse's new "The New Thing" CD Reissue series. Excellent 20-bit sound.
HUNTINGTON ASHRAM MONASTERY Impulse! Records 1969. AS-9185. Producer not listed. No CD.
Capsule Info: Recorded after Alice Coltrane met her future guru, Swami Satchidananda, this album shows her spirituality narrowing but deepening the focus of her expression in jazz.
PTAH THE EL-DAOUD Impulse! Records 1970. AS-9196. Produced by Ed Michel. CD.
Capsule Info: A fairly eclectic album, moving from Mingus-like marches to the spritually meditative to a Pharoah Sanders screechfest.
JOURNEY IN SATCHIDANANDA Impulse! Records 1971. AS-9203. Produced by Alice Coltrane with Ed Michel. CD.
Capsule Info: One of Alice's best albums. From her liner notes: "Direct inspiration for JOURNEY IN SATCHIDANANDA comes from my meeting and association with...my own beloved spiritual perceptor, Swami Satchidananda... Satchidananda means knowledge, existence, bliss....I hope that this album will be a form of meditation and a spiritual awakening for those who listen with their inner ear."
UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS Impulse! Records 1972. AS-9210. Produced by Alice Coltrane and Ed Michel. No CD (To be reissued on CD in mid-2002 by Verve).
Capsule Info: One of Alice's more way-out albums, the fruit of a visit to South Asia, the source of her spiritual inspiration. Alice Coltrane's organ is fierce and shrieking, sounding more like an oboe than a keyboard: no funky soul jazz here. And yet it's also deeply meditative and brooding. The string transcriptions are by, of all people, Ornette Coleman. A beautiful record.
WORLD GALAXY Impulse! Records1972. AS-9218. CD Japan.
Capsule Info: Yes, the gatefold cover is by Peter Max. Alice's religious ruminations on her own and John Coltrane's work go straight out to a string-backed stratosphere. Here Alice touches on Yoruba religion (Olodumare is the Yoruba/Lucumi God) and Hindu theology. Her cover of her late husband's masterwork "A Love Supreme" opens with an invocation by her guru, Swami Satchidananda, explicating the forms of love; it moves from sweeping strings to funky back-beat and organ. Oh yeah, this album was partially recorded on my 13th birthday.
LORD OF LORDS Impulse! Records 1972. AS-9224. Produced by Ed Michel. No CD.
Capsule Info: Highlights of this spiritual orchestral masterwork include her version of the gospel/spiritual "Going Home," and her excerpt of Stravinsky's "Firebird," performed, says Alice, after a ghostly visitation by its composer who offered her musical and spiritual advice and blessings.
John Coltrane: INFINITY Impulse! Records 1972. AS-9225. Produced by Alice Coltrane and Ed Michel. CD Japan Only.
Capsule Info: Nominally a posthumously released John Coltrane album, this wonderful disc is actually John completely presented through Alice's early 1970s mystical vision. Only John Coltrane's and portions of his quartet members' parts are original dating from previously unreleased mid-1960s performances: the bass solos, the harp and organ parts, the percussion parts, and sweeping Stravinsky-like string arrangements were overdubbed in 1972. This is not "John Coltrane with Strings," but a re-envisioned opus entirely. Some might call it heresy: I call it brilliant. Not to be missed is the psychedlic kaleidoscope cover.
REFLECTION ON CREATION AND SPACE (A Five Year View) Impulse! Records 1973. AS-9232. Compilation. No CD; 2-LP set.
Capsule Info: A best-of Alice Coltrane's Impulse! period, with songs edited and in some cases combined from the original releases.
Turiya Alice Coltrane/Devadip Carlos Santana: ILLUMINATIONS Columbia/Sony 1974/1996. Produced by Alice Coltrane, Carlos Santana and Tom Coster. CD, Europe only.
Capsule Info: During Devadip Carlos Santana's religious period he and Alice produced this legendary collaboration: his electric guitar work against her string arrangements and spiritual transcendence.
ETERNITY Warner Bros. Records 1976. Produced by Ed Michel. CD, Europe only (USA set for 2002)
Capsule Info: Alice moved from Impulse! to Warner Brothers with a wildly eclectic offering recorded in 1975. As jazz was trying various ways of crossing over to pop...some successfully but most spelling deathknells for many jazz careers, Alice didn't quite sell out but she certainly crossed over...where one might not be completely sure. Two tunes (one from Stravinsky, again) are lush horn and string orchestra settings. Two tunes are meditative Eastern-sounding pieces that fifteen years later might be called New Age. The album is rounded off by her first (thought not last) use of vocals in Om Supreme, and the percussion heavy rumba-esque Los Caballos. As is customary all the tracks feature spiritual annotation and explanation.
RADHA-KRSNA NAMA SANKIRTANA Warner Bros. Records 1977. Produced by Ed Michel. CD, Europe only, 2002
Capsule Info: In a relatively spare album, side one features Alice interpreting traditional Hindu chants replete with the backing of a Hare Krishna choir, students at her Vedantic Center in California. Side two is an extended duet with one of her sons.
TRANSCENDENCE Warner Bros. Records 1977. Produced by Ed Michel. CD, 2002.
Capsule Info: More successful in my opinion than the previous vocal album, side two features Hindu chants sounding surprisingly funky accompanied by Alice's organ and the Indian percussion of the singers, the arrangements and voices sounding like Hare Krishna filtered through a gospel sensibility. Purists might balk at calling it jazz but probably the most "swinging" Alice Coltrane material since PTAH THE EL DAOUD. Side one features her trademark, by now, austere string arrangements.
TRANSFIGURATION Warner Bros. Records 1978. Produced by Ed Michel. 2-CD Set, 2002.
Capsule Info: Recorded live at UCLA in 1978, Alice set aside the Hare Krishna choirs and exotic instruments to a return to her early period's trio style, revisiting several of her own tunes as well as John Coltrane's way-out period opus "Leo". Deeply spiritual, but definitely jazz.
TURIYA SINGS Avatar Book Institute, 1982. No producer listed. Cassette only.
Capsule Info: Recording of spiritual, devotional songs, to original music. Sung in sanskrit by Alice Coltrane (now Swamini Turiyasangitananda) herself, the songs are simple and meditative; Alice Coltrane's voice proves to be deeply affecting; heartfelt and even soulful. String arrangements on some songs, synthesizer washes and organ on others. This, like her other devotional recordings, is not jazz, but a beautiful statement of her evolution on the non-secular plane. She writes, "divine music shall always be the sound of love, the sound of peace, the sound of life, the sound of bliss."
DIVINE SONGS Avatar Book Institute, 1987. Producer unknown. Cassette only.
Capsule Info: I haven't heard this one.
INFINITE CHANTS Avatar Book Institute, 1991. Producer unknown. Cassette only.
Alice Coltrane - Turiyasangitananda: GLORIOUS CHANTS Avatar Book Institute, 1995. No producer listed. CD and cassette.
Capsule Info: Sanskrit and English chants arranged mostly for vocal chorus with lead vocal. Devotional in nature; peaceful and meditative. The synthesizer wash backgrounds have their dramatic moments but are mostly more soothing ala new age music. Clapping and Indian percussion accompany. Dedicated to Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba.
ALICE COLTRANE: PRICELESS JAZZ 20 GRP/Universal 1998. Compilation. CD.
Capsule Info: An overdue compilation of tunes from several Impulse! albums: PTAH THE EL DAOUD*, HUNTINGTON ASHRAM MONASTERY+, JOURNEY IN SATCHIDANANDA=, A MONASTIC TRIO#, and UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS@. Hopefully her 1998 concert appearances will provoke Impulse! and Warner Brothers into reissuing more of her albums on CD.
Finally, several hard-to-find-on-CD Alice Coltrane tracks are included in the following CD anthologies: Jazz Satellites Volume 1--Electrification, Virgin Records 1996 (Europe only) Red Hot On Impulse, MCA/GRP 1994. Alice Coltrane | Concert | Discography 1 | Discography 2 Ian's Guide | Artists | Links | Sitemap | About Us
Red Hot On Impulse, MCA/GRP 1994.
Alice Coltrane | Concert | Discography 1 | Discography 2
Ian's Guide | Artists | Links | Sitemap | About Us
