In Memoriam Alice Coltrane 1937-2007, mixed by Dr. Auratheft.
1 Ptah, The El Daoud
2 Prema Muditha
3 Stopover Bombay
4 Journey in Satchidananda
5 Transfiguration
6 Jaya Jaya Rama
7 Turiya and Ramakrishna
8 A Love Supreme (For John Coltrane)
9 Translinear Light
10 Mantra
11 The Sun
Unfortunately too often referred to as The-Wife-Of, Alice Coltrane was an astonishing
musician herself, playing piano, organ and harp. Like Sun Ra, she
envisioned a spiritual world/cosmos, fuelled by love and harmony,
however her journeys seemed to be an exploration of inner space. Okay,
she may have wasted some talents in
one-dimensional-too-late-spirituality-Hara-Krsna-stuff, but her genuine
Afro-Futurist craftsmanship, as expressed in records like “Ptah The El
Daoud”, still stands out today.
When she passed away earlier
this year I wanted to pay tribute to her life and work with a mix. I
couldn’t find the time by then. After compiling the Sun Ra “Spontaneous
Simplicity” mixtape, I decided to give this tribute another try. My
friend Fred de Vries from Johannesburg South-Africa has sent me a
reminder. I’m sure this music will encourage him to finish his
biography of South-African Beat poet Sinclair Beiles.
The mix
whirls around my favourite Alice Coltrane sound, that is, her piano
playing accompanied by straight forward drum & bass jazz, with
musicians such as Pharaoh Sanders, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, Ben
Riley, Charlie Haden, Rashied Ali and Jack DeJohnette. For me, this mix
compiles some of Alice’s greatest gifts to mankind and planet Earth.
Peace.
Alice Coltrane 2002 The Wire interview: