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34-401: Alice Lucille Coltrane ( née McLeod ; August 27, 1937 – January 12, 2007), also known as Swamini Turiyasangitananda ( IAST : Svāminī Turīyasaṅgītānanda ) or simply Turiya , was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and Hindu spiritual leader. An accomplished pianist and one of the few harpists in the history of jazz, Coltrane recorded many albums as

68-453: A bandleader, beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s for Impulse! and other record labels. She was married to the jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane , with whom she performed in 1966–1967. One of the foremost proponents of spiritual jazz , her eclectic music proved influential both within and outside the world of jazz. Coltrane's career slowed from the mid-1970s as she became more dedicated to her religious education. She founded

102-470: A drummer who died in a car accident in 1982); Ravi (b. 1965, a saxophonist); and Oranyan (b. 1967, a DJ ). Oranyan later played saxophone with Santana for a period of time. Alice and John's growing involvement in spirituality influenced some of John's compositions and projects, such as A Love Supreme . In January 1966, Alice Coltrane replaced McCoy Tyner as pianist with John Coltrane's group. She subsequently recorded with him and continued playing with

136-745: A mix containing Coltrane's vocals and Wurlitzer organ without the overdubbed synthesizers and strings. During the late 1980s, Coltrane received a revelation during her meditations that allegedly confirmed the South Indian spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba to be "the Avatar of this age", leading her in 1994 to rename her ashram the 'Sai Anantam Ashram' in his honor. Until her death, she remained an ardent devotee of Sai Baba and undertook frequent pilgrimages with her students to his residence in Puttaparthi, India to acquire his blessings. Following Coltrane's death in 2007,

170-488: A pilgrimage to Vrindavan, India on July 1, 1977, after being invited by ISKCON leaders to perform at various Ratha-yatra festivals across the United States. Despite her various spiritual affiliations, Coltrane primarily sought spiritual guidance not from external gurus but instead from God himself, with whom she believed herself able to communicate as a result of the spiritual merit acquired through her tapas. Throughout

204-586: A state of emotional turmoil and wanting to help, a musical colleague of hers introduced her to the Yoga guru Swami Satchidananda , under whom she would take mantra diksha and study Hinduism during the early 1970s. By 1972, she had abandoned her secular life and moved to California , where she established the Vedantic Center in 1975. During the mid-1970s, she underwent a mystical experience wherein she believed God had initiated her directly into sannyasa , giving her

238-673: Is about Coltrane. Orange Cake Mix included a song entitled "Alice Coltrane" on their 1997 LP Silver Lining Underwater. Poet giovanni singleton's book Ascension includes 49 poems written daily after Alice Coltrane's death. Cauleen Smith 's conceptual art exhibition Give It or Leave It featured two films, "Pilgrim" (2017) and "Sojourner" (2018), exploring Alice Coltrane's music and ashram. Studio and live albums Compilations With John Coltrane With Terry Gibbs With Roland Kirk With McCoy Tyner With Joe Henderson With Charlie Haden With Various Artists Birth name#Maiden and married names A birth name

272-653: Is buried alongside John Coltrane in Pinelawn Memorial Park, Farmingdale , Suffolk County, New York . Coltrane is an influence on the English rock band Radiohead , such as on the song "Dollars and Cents", from their 2001 album Amnesiac . Paul Weller dedicated his song "Song for Alice (Dedicated to the Beautiful Legacy of Mrs. Coltrane)", from his 2008 album 22 Dreams , to Coltrane; the track titled "Alice" on Sunn O))) 's 2009 album Monoliths & Dimensions

306-503: Is the name given to a person upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname , the given name , or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth register may by that fact alone become the person's legal name . The assumption in the Western world is often that the name from birth (or perhaps from baptism or brit milah ) will persist to adulthood in

340-461: Is the masculine form. The term née , having feminine grammatical gender , can be used to denote a woman's surname at birth that has been replaced or changed. In most English-speaking cultures, it is specifically applied to a woman's maiden name after her surname has changed due to marriage. The term né can be used to denote a man's surname at birth that has subsequently been replaced or changed. The diacritic mark (the acute accent ) over

374-456: The e is considered significant to its spelling, and ultimately its meaning, but is sometimes omitted. According to Oxford University 's Dictionary of Modern English Usage , the terms are typically placed after the current surname (e.g., " Margaret Thatcher , née Roberts" or " Bill Clinton , né Blythe"). Since they are terms adopted into English (from French), they do not have to be italicized , but they often are. In Polish tradition ,

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408-511: The 1980s and 1990s, Coltrane would release books, available through her private publishing company, the Avatar Book Institute, which detailed these alleged divine communications. The first of these, Endless Wisdom I , was released in 1982 with an accompanying spiritual cassette, Turiya Sings . Coltrane would go on to release three more cassettes, Divine Songs in 1987, Infinite Chants in 1990, and Glorious Chants in 1995, alongside

442-611: The Coltrane home studio, Dix Hills, New York. Coltrane appears on harp and organ, and is joined by bassist Jimmy Garrison , drummers Jack DeJohnette , Rashied Ali , and Clifford Jarvis , and, on three tracks, a quartet of violins playing parts arranged by Coltrane and transcribed by Ornette Coleman . The album was originally released by Impulse! Records in 1971. It was the first in a series of three albums (preceding World Galaxy and Lord of Lords ) on which Coltrane appeared with an ensemble of strings. In 2011, Impulse! reissued

476-580: The Vedantic Center in 1975 and the Shanti Anantam ashram in California in 1983, where she served as spiritual director. On July 3, 1994, she rededicated and inaugurated the land as Sai Anantam Ashram . During the 1980s and 1990s, she recorded several albums of Hindu devotional songs before returning to spiritual jazz in the 2000s and releasing her final album Translinear Light in 2004. Coltrane

510-468: The album "perhaps her finest achievement on record," and described her harp and organ playing as "superlative." They stated: "the personnels reflect quite distinct musical approaches and Alice Coltrane's conviction that every piece of music had its own sufficient orchestra." Bill Shoemaker of Jazz Times described Universal Consciousness as "an enduring album and arguably Alice Coltrane's masterpiece," calling her debut on organ "stunning," and noting how

544-490: The album, along with Lord of Lords , as part of a compilation titled Universal Consciousness/Lord of Lords . In a review for AllMusic , Thom Jurek wrote: "This is art of the highest order, conceived by a brilliant mind, poetically presented in exquisite collaboration by divinely inspired musicians and humbly offered as a gift to listeners. It is a true masterpiece". The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings called

578-436: The ashram's attendance dwindled, and it was eventually permanently closed in 2017, the site later being destroyed in the 2018 Woolsey Fire . 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 25-year break from major public performances, she returned to the stage for three U.S. appearances in

612-519: The band until John's death on July 17, 1967. After her husband's death, she continued to forward the musical and spiritual vision, and started to release records as a composer and bandleader. One day, when she was struggling with her health and caring for her young family of four children, there was a knock at the door and to her immense surprise a full-sized Lyon & Healy concert harp was delivered, having been ordered by her husband for her before his unexpected death. Her first album, A Monastic Trio ,

646-411: The books Divine Revelations in 1995 and Endless Wisdom II in 1999. In 2017, the tenth anniversary of Coltrane's death, New York-based label Luaka Bop released World Spirituality Classics 1: The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda , a compilation of tracks from her ashram cassettes. In 2021, Impulse! Records re-released Turiya Sings under the title Kirtan: Turiya Sings , using

680-627: The fall of 2006, including a concert at Ann Arbor's Hill Auditorium presented by University Musical Society of the University of Michigan on September 23, which would have been John Coltrane 's 80th birthday, and culminating on November 4 with a concert for the San Francisco Jazz Festival 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 in 2007, aged 69. She

714-591: The instrument "accentuates the Bud Powell-inspired chops" and "immaculate articulation." Matthew Fiander of PopMatters commented: "The album is a beautiful, if challenging, sound, one that seems to carry all of Alice Coltrane’s musical interests and her devotion to faith and to her husband's memory, and the results are jarring but joyous." The Vinyl District's Joseph Neff called the album "a truly extraordinary record," and praised its "assurance, lucidity, and mastery of scale and instrumentation." He noted that

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748-567: The instrument to her interest in Indian music, comparing its sound to that of the harmonium and tambura . Her introduction to the organ also marked a turning point in her outlook as a musician; referring to the fact that the instrument has "two or three manuals and complete bass in the pedals," she recalled: "when I began to play the organ, there came the freedom and understanding that I would never have to depend on anyone else musically." Recording took place at A & R Recording, New York City and at

782-447: The jazz label for which her husband recorded. From 1973 to 1978, she released primarily on Warner Bros. Records until she stepped away from the public eye. After the death of her husband, Coltrane experienced a period of trial. She suffered from severe weight loss and sleepless nights, as well as hallucinations, which she would later describe as her undergoing tapas (a Sanskrit term for austere spiritual practices). Seeing Coltrane in

816-591: The late 1950s. She studied classical music , and also jazz with Bud Powell in Paris, where she worked as the intermission pianist at the Blue Note Jazz Club in 1960. It was there that McLeod appeared on French television in a performance with Lucky Thompson , Pierre Michelot and Kenny Clarke . She married Kenny "Pancho" Hagood in 1960 and had a daughter, Michelle, with him. The marriage ended soon after, on account of Hagood's developing heroin addiction, and McLeod

850-547: The monastic name Turiyasangitananda, which she translated as "the Transcendental Lord's Highest Song of Bliss." She became the spiritual director or guru of the Shanti Anantam Ashram, which the Vedantic Center established in 1983 near Malibu , California. Alice would perform formal and informal Vedic ceremonies at the ashram and lead them in congregational chanting or kirtan . She developed original melodies from

884-429: The names of Radha and Krishna' ) was released by Warner Bros in 1977, featuring gospel-inflected renditions of popular bhajans and mantras within both movements. She sent a copy of the record to A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada , the founder and leader of ISKCON, who replied to her in a letter dated March 12, 1977, commending her for her chanting. Coltrane would eventually meet Bhaktivedanta Swami in person while on

918-405: The normal course of affairs—either throughout life or until marriage. Some reasons for changes of a person's name include middle names , diminutive forms, changes relating to parental status (due to one's parents' divorce or adoption by different parents), and gender transition . The French and English-adopted née is the feminine past participle of naître , which means "to be born". Né

952-839: The omission of horns is more than outweighed by the presence of "an exceptional band," and by the "spaced-out edginess of Coltrane's organ." Fact (UK magazine) listed the album as the third greatest of the 1970s with Drummer and contributor Eli Keszler citing it as a major influence and commenting: "She managed to merge the zeitgeist into one swelling ball of energy – fusing modal jazz, ecstatic rituals, electronics, eastern influence, multi-directional rhythms and studio experimentation with avant-garde western classical..". String arrangements on tracks 1, 3 and 4 by Coltrane. Tracks 4 and 5 arranged by Coltrane. Transcriptions on tracks 1, 3 and 4 by Ornette Coleman . Produced by Alice Coltrane , Ed Michel and Brian Konairz. Engineers at Dix Hills were W. Barneke and Roy Musgnug. Engineer at A&R Recording

986-498: The term z domu (literally meaning "of the house", de domo in Latin ) may be used, with rare exceptions, meaning the same as née . Universal Consciousness Universal Consciousness was recorded shortly after Coltrane returned from a trip to India, and was the first album on which she is heard playing the Wurlitzer organ. In an interview, she related her decision to use

1020-584: The traditional chants and started to experiment by including synthesizers, sophisticated song structures and aspects of Gospel music in her compositions. During the late 1970s to early 1980s, Coltrane would become progressively more influenced by the ecstatic devotionalism of the Sathya Sai Baba movement and ISKCON communities present on the West Coast, incorporating their bhajans into her artistic milieu. The album Radha-Krsna Nama Sankirtana (Lit. 'chanting

1054-507: Was born Alice Lucille McLeod on August 27, 1937, in Detroit , Michigan , and grew up in a musical household. Her mother, Anna McLeod, was a member of the choir at her church; her half-brother, Ernest Farrow , became a jazz drummer; and her younger sister, Marilyn McLeod , became a songwriter at Motown . With the encouragement of her father, Alice McLeod pursued music and started to perform in various clubs around Detroit, until moving to Paris in

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1088-544: Was forced to return to Detroit with her daughter. She continued playing jazz as a professional in Detroit, with her own trio and as a duo with vibraphonist Terry Pollard . In 1962–63, she played with Terry Gibbs ' quartet, during which time she met John Coltrane . In 1965, they married in Juárez, Mexico . John Coltrane became stepfather to Alice Coltrane's daughter Michelle , and the couple had three children together: John Jr. (1964,

1122-468: Was recorded in 1967. From 1968 to 1977, she released thirteen full-length records. As the years passed, her musical direction moved further from standard jazz into the more cosmic, spiritual world. Albums like Universal Consciousness (1971), and World Galaxy (1972), show a progression from a four-piece line-up to a more orchestral approach, with lush string arrangements and cascading harp glissandos. Until 1973, she released music with Impulse! Records ,

1156-451: Was similarly inspired. Electronic musician Steve "Flying Lotus" Ellison is the grandnephew of Alice Coltrane. On his 2010 album Cosmogramma , he paid tribute to Coltrane in the form of a song titled "Drips//Auntie's Harp", in which he sampled her harp from the track "Blue Nile", featured on the album Ptah, the El Daoud (1970). The song "That Alice" on Laura Veirs' album Warp and Weft

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