R.I.P. Alice Coltrane

Alice Coltrane: Galaxy In Satchidananda
From: World Galaxy [Impulse!, 1972]

Alice Coltrane 27.08.1937 - 12.01.2007

It seems like very other post at the moment is paying tribute to the passing of an artist but mention had to be made of the death of Alice Coltrane last Friday.

I featured Alice's work in a post last August and don't really have much more to add to my previous statement that Alice produced gorgeous, timeless, music of the highest quality. The fact that Alice stepped out of the shadow of the genius of John Coltrane to make her own permanent mark on jazz is a testament to the skills and determination she had in her life.

While I would highly, highly, recommend picking up the two albums mentioned in the previous post (Journey In Satchidananda in particular is one of the most beautiful records I've ever heard) I thought I'd share another album from Alice's seventies period that I'd been meaning to post for some time and never got round to.

Galaxy In Satchidananda follows on from Alice's previous work with it's lush mixture of harp, strings and organs - it displays Alice's ability to arrange compositions that while breathtakingly beautiful and mellow, never threaten to fall into background music. While there are funkier offerings out there the sombre mood of this piece just seemed appropriate for this moment.

She will be missed.