Alice Coltrane Appreciation Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by AveryKG, Sep 12, 2006.

  1. AveryKG

    AveryKG Sultan of snacks Thread Starter

    Location:
    west London
    I bought 'The House That Trane Built', a cheap Impulse label sampler the other day (mainly 'cos it has Oliver Nelson's 'Stolen Moments' and I've always loved Frank Zappa's version of the tune).

    Anyway, the track that really knocked me out on the CD was Alice Coltrane's 'Journey in Satchidananda', so off I went to iTunes to check out some more samples of her stuff... and they're pretty much all great! It seems like there are about nine or ten albums currently available, and since I can't buy these all at once, and I guess there have to be some AC fans here, the question is "Which of her discs do I buy first?"
     
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  2. Ptah the El Daoud is one of my favorites, with Pharoah Sanders and Ron Carter, you also might look for her project with Carlos Santana, Illuminations.:thumbsup:
     
  3. sherrill50

    sherrill50 Well-adapted Melomaniac

    Location:
    Mukilteo, WA
    Motion seconded. "Illuminations" is an absolutely stunning record.
     
  4. Parkertown

    Parkertown Tawny Port

    Universal Consciousness is just so cool...

    Alice's bass pedals make my walls vibrate. :cool:
     
  5. listner_matt

    listner_matt Still thinks music is an inexhaustible resource

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY, USA
    Actually the entire CD 'Journey in Satchidananda' is worth purchasing, and that's the first one I purchased as well. In addition, it has Pharoah Sanders, Rashied Ali, and Charlie Haden playing on it.

    I've also got a 2-LP comp of her Impulse/ABC years on vinyl called 'Reflection on Creation and Space (A Five Year View)' that would work as a good summary introduction as well. Both are worth checking out if you like the sound of 'Journey'.
     
  6. You might also look for the Joe Henderson/Alice Coletrane collaboration called, The Elements (OJCCD-913-2 (M-9053)). It features Michael White on Violin, and Charlie Haden on Bass. Have fun!:winkgrin:
     
  7. Claude

    Claude Senior Member

    Location:
    Luxembourg
    Check out Pharoah Sanders' Impulse! sessions, they have a similar mood.

    Alice Coltrane's later live album Transfiguration is also very good.
     
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  8. jblock

    jblock Senior Member

    Location:
    Connecticut
    I'd start with the whole Journey CD. I have a few of hers and I always go back to that one. There's a great live track on there.
     
  9. AveryKG

    AveryKG Sultan of snacks Thread Starter

    Location:
    west London
    Thanks for these, guys. That's a great review that 'Transfiguration' gets at AMG. There seems to be both a single- and double-CD set of this available, but since the total time of the original release clocks up at 83 mins. I guess some of the long track 'Leo' is edited for the single CD. Hmm, probably safest to stick with the double.

    Thanks for the heads up on the Santana collaboration too. I wasn't aware of that one as it's listed separately to her other entries at both AMG and Amazon. Another one to add to the list.

    I did think about getting one of the compilations, but I can see myself getting all the available original releases over time, and it might be unnecessary duplication. Anyway, I just ordered 'Transcendence' from HMV's website (£3.99 in an offer on Warner jazz CDs - get 'em while they're cheap!), but they all seem pretty reasonably priced, so I may get a few more in the next few days. :righton:
     
  10. ceddy10165

    ceddy10165 My life was saved by rock n roll

    Location:
    Avon, CT
    Journey in Satchidananda was my first Alice record, and still my favorite.
     
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  11. gohill

    gohill Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow, UK
    yep 'Journey....' is the best of the 4 i've got. Extraordinary album, i must dig it out when i get home this evening.
     
  12. shakti

    shakti Senior Member

    Location:
    Ramnes, Norway
    Welcome to the woonderful world of Alice Coltrane! Her music sounds like nothing else, really...

    As has been said, do get the collaboration with Carlos Santana - "Illuminations". Absolutely stunning. The best guitar playing Carlos did.

    Unfortunately not all her Impulse albums are available. Some are only out in Japan on CD, some are only available as downloads. Of the ones released as Impulse! remasters, I'd recommend "Journey In Satchidananda" and "Universal Consciousness" the most, I think. "Ptah the El Daoud" and "A Monastic Trio" are also very good, if perhaps slightly less out there... If you find "World Galaxy - AC with Strings" at a decent price, jump at it. That leaves "Lord of Lords" and "Huntington Ashram Monastery", neither of which have been reissued in the US/Europe, although I think they're on iTunes. There was a nice compilation in the Impulse! digipak reissue series, I forget the name, but it was only available briefly in Europe, and never in the US.

    As for her late-70s Warner albums, "Eternity" is a must-have. Sweeping string arrangements, harp-laden and electric piano-driven meditational things, furious electric organ forays - all over the place, really, but in a very good way. "Transcendence" and "Radha-Krsna Nama Sankirtana" are less essential - mostly devotional songs that you may view as either new-agey mumbo-jumbo or bordering on the sublime. I'm somewhere in the middle... "Transfiguration", a live recording, is more of a return to a standard piano trio format. Good stuff.
     
  13. lschwart

    lschwart Senior Member

    Location:
    Richmond, VA
    I agree with what many have said. I like all of her old Impulse records, but for whatever reason, "Journey in Satchidananda" is the one I like best and play most often. I heard that record years ago playing as I was browsing in the jazz section in the Tower Records in Greenwich Village, and I bought it on the spot. It has seldom been far from my CD player since then.

    L.
     
  14. major_works

    major_works This is my Custom Title

    Location:
    Ramsey, NJ, USA
    Alice did some pretty good work on a few records she made with her husband, too. :winkgrin:
     
  15. lschwart

    lschwart Senior Member

    Location:
    Richmond, VA
    By the way, if you end up liking "Ptah the El Daoud" and "Journey," you might want to check out Joe Henderson's early '70's record, "The Elements." Alice Coltrane plays on the disk, and it has a similar feel to her own Impulse records. Nice violin work from Michael White and Charlie Haden on bass. This disk is not often mentioned, but it's a nice one if you like that jazz-eastern vibe from that era. The original LP was on Milestone; the OJC CD sounds pretty good.

    L.
     
  16. MisterBritt

    MisterBritt Senior Member

    Location:
    Santa Fe, NM, USA
    Just listened to the sample of "Stolen Moments" by Ahmad Jamal. I'd never heard that. Sounds great just like everything else he's ever done.

    I've got all the Alice Coltrane titles as Japan Mini LPs. I love that stuff -- all of it. There's another couple of offerings along these lines that you might really enjoy: Pharaoh Sander's "Jewels of Thought" and "Journey to the One".

    (Again, I've got about a half dozen of these Pharoah Sanders albums as Japan Mini LPs. The artwork is too much. "Jewels" is not available in Mini LP and I'm still looking for "Tauhid".)

    So if you like the Alice Coltrane catalogue, there are some fantastic albums in this genre by Pharoah Sanders you might want to explore. "Journey to the One" was abridged in the non-Japan Mini LP format, by the way.

    "Kulu Se Mama" by John Coltrane is one of his during his collaboration with Pharoah Sanders. And, finally, the "Illuminations" album by Alice Coltrane with Santana, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnnett is really great. If you appreciate the Japan Mini LP presentation and artwork, these are all gems in that format.
     
  17. shakti

    shakti Senior Member

    Location:
    Ramnes, Norway
    +1! :righton:
     
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  18. Check out post #6 :edthumbs: Great minds and all that!!!
     
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  19. robertawillisjr

    robertawillisjr Music Lover

    Location:
    Hampton, VA
    It is nice to see that her work is appreciated somewhere. She and Pharaoh were heavily panned during that time period. I was able to get just about their entire output of the early to mid-seventies from the cutout bins.

    Gorgeous stuff.
     
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  20. lschwart

    lschwart Senior Member

    Location:
    Richmond, VA
    Brian,

    Sorry I didn't notice that! Great minds (and great taste!), indeed.

    Back at you in Richmond from the other Richmond (or one of the several others!)

    L.
     
  21. live evil

    live evil Senior Member

    Location:
    ohio
    there is a single disc alice coltrane collection on impulse that was released to coincide with "the house that trane built" book and box set.
    it is available on yourmusic.com.
     
  22. AveryKG

    AveryKG Sultan of snacks Thread Starter

    Location:
    west London
    Well, I routinely slag off HMV and Virgin, but their Oxford St megastores were able to come up with better deals than the best online prices for 'Journey in Satchidananda' and 'Translinear Light' respectively, so I snaffled those on the way to work this evening. 'Eternity' and 'Ptah' next, maybe. I didn't see either the Henderson or the Santana collaboration in either store. Those Japanese replicas look really cool, but I'd better stick to the regular releases for the sake of my wallet.

    I did see the single CD version of this though and jotted down the times to compare against those at AMG later. Seems they've shaved between 10 and 20 seconds off each track to fit it all on one CD, which I'm guessing may be just audience reaction/applause. If that's so, then it may be reasonably safe to get this version.

    Thanks for the Pharoah Sanders recommendations too, all. I've been dimly aware of Sanders for a while now, and there's a double CD I've picked up before today and considered buying, but I'm glad I didn't 'cos looking at it again today, it seems to have some pretty savage edits of key tracks. This comp, however, from the Impulse Story series only has four tracks but it gets a glowing review at AMG, so I might just check this one out.

    Wish I could say I was in Richmond, Surrey; I'm not, but its only a bus ride away! ;)
     
  23. lschwart

    lschwart Senior Member

    Location:
    Richmond, VA
    Well, that's close enough for me!

    L.
     
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  24. pdenny

    pdenny 22-Year SHTV Participation Trophy Recipient

    Location:
    Hawthorne CA
    I adore JOURNEY IN SATCHINANDA...it really takes you to another place (a nice, mellow, exotic place). The other albums, well, are a harder listen for me. Your mileage etc. depending on your tolerance of Pharoah Sanders' wailing.
     
  25. Sean V

    Sean V Well-Known Member

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