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Journey in Satchidananda
By Josephine Livingstone
Jazz / Experimental
February 3, 2019
Alice Coltrane’s daughter Sita Michelle once recalled a morning when she was lying in bed before school. She awoke to the sound of a beautiful harp and thought, “If heaven is like this, then I’ll be certainly ready to welcome it when I get my chance.” The story goes that John Coltrane had ordered that harp, but died before it could arrive. Since Alice’s career as a bandleader took off in the years after John’s death, and her practice centered around this silvery new instrument, it’s tempting to see the harp as the gift that he left her to perpetuate their shared musical legacy.
But Alice was not Orpheus, and John was not Apollo. To suggest that the harp itself began her career would be to deny the intensity of her talent and do wrong by every wife whose legacy has been yoked to her husband’s. Though their influences dovetail, their oeuvres remain separate, and within the spectacular and emotional Journey in Satchidananda , the knot at the heart of Alice Coltrane’s harp story starts to unfold.
Born Alice McLeod in the Detroit summer of 1937, she was a talent from the start, playing piano and organ in her local Baptist church. Because the music she would go on to make is so cosmic, so beatific, it’s easy to mistake Alice Coltrane for somebody without rigorous musical training. But she performed classical piano at concerts around Detroit in her teens. In 1960, she moved to Paris and took up jazz under the mentorship of pianist Bud Powell. By the following year, she was performing as the intermission pianist at the Blue Note in Paris.
The first man Alice Coltrane married delivered her, in a way, to the second. She wedded jazz vocalist Kenny “Pancho” Hagood in 1960, but almost as soon as she conceived their child, their relationship deteriorated due to his heroin abuse and she returned to America. With their daughter Sita Michelle in tow, Alice arrived in Detroit later that year and her career as a professional musician began in earnest. She gigged around Detroit, eventually joining Terry Gibbs’ quartet on the piano. She was a sought-after improviser, notable for her commitment to trance-like playing that transcended the rhythms her bandleader established. While playing a New York show with Gibbs’ band in 1962, she met John Coltrane on a shared bill at Metropole. The following year Alice abruptly quit Gibbs’ band, telling him that she was going to marry John. John and Alice had three children together.
John died of liver cancer in 1967. He left Alice bereft, or whatever word is stronger than “bereft.” She couldn’t sleep and she saw visions; she lost weight. In the depths of her grief, Alice had visited a man named Swami Satchidananda, a guru who had spoken to the crowds at Woodstock, and become his disciple. His advice and spiritual guidance soothed her spirit.
Coltrane was by this stage deeply engaged with matters of the spirit. Her compositions began to bend psychedelically to musical traditions around the world, but remained flavored by the bebop environment of her Detroit youth. She recorded Journey in Satchidananda , named for her spiritual adviser Swami Satchidananda, in 1970. All of Coltrane’s early albums bear witness to her exploration of mythology and religion, particularly from Egypt and India, the latter of which she visited several times in the 1970s. But it’s Journey in Satchidananda that pays full tribute to the transformation that she underwent in the late 1960s—as a human being and artist.
As that crystalline harp makes so immediately clear, this is a record as much about the soul as it is about skilled orchestration. The clue is in the title: it’s a journey. Coltrane takes us across uncharted territory in jazz composition, drawing from multiple cultures and diverse instruments, but she also shows us emotion in motion. Because she refuses to stay in one key, instead treating the album’s themes as a set of recurring melodic shapes, the very texture of Journey is defined by transition, process, and flow. Its music has no beginning or end. Instead, as the first bars of the opening track demonstrate, Coltrane is working with the principle of looping and transcendence.
You should listen to Journey beginning to end while lying on the ground with your eyes closed, because those are the best conditions for performing the kind of visualization that Alice Coltrane’s liner notes request: “Anyone listening to this selection should try to envision himself floating on an ocean of Satchinandaji’s love,” she wrote, “which is literally carrying countless devotees across the vicissitudes and stormy blasts of life to the other shore.”
And so I spread myself out over the floor of my apartment until I felt like a conduit between the earth below and the universe above. The record opens with three droning tamboura notes, anchoring the title track. The three-note phrase looped around, holding me inside it, while a soft and well-assured bassline spread out beneath. Then Alice enters. Within the theme played on the tamboura—a long-necked string drone instrument with an almost reedy timbre—her harp sounds like a sprite, or a child set free after a long confinement. It dances upwards and downwards unselfconsciously, as if nobody is watching. With my eyes closed, it sounded like a beam of light on water.
When the legendary free jazz pioneer Pharoah Sanders joins, his saxophone melody could go anywhere, since Cecil McBee’s bass is so steady (McBee by this time had played with Miles Davis , Yusef Lateef, and Freddie Hubbard). On this track as on the next four, dissonance is a place to visit but not to stay. Every top melody is an exploration, but Coltrane’s orchestration always provides a stable and repetitive place of return. That drone-and-bass texture comes from McBee and the tamboura, played by a musician credited only as “Tulsi,” while at the other end of the register Sanders’ sax and Vishnu Wood’s oud join Coltrane’s harp in a kind of sparkling, freeform dance.
The orchestration is broad and deep, unmistakably influenced by Coltrane’s interest in South Asian tradition. Nothing as boring as chord progressions governs Journey . Instead, like John, Alice worked in the modal style, discarding functional harmony in favor of freely-chosen chords around a root note. The album’s harmony references Indian scales and other non-diatonic series, but mostly it runs off its own themes, like that opening three-note drone. Melodies wander across the record from instrument to instrument, and track to track. They recur, alter, and they play.
On track two, “Shiva Loka,” Alice’s harp grows stronger, unfurling into an own entity with its own character. The track is named for a goddess, the Dissolver of Creation. The three-note circle from track one is now a sonorous base, its resonance becoming thicker and more lively. The bells speed up and scatter over the music’s surface. The pulse is thicker too, taking us off the beat and into a real rhythm. It’s hard to dance while lying on the ground, but “Shiva Loka” makes that possible.
The groove continues in “Stopover Bombay,” a train rocking on its tracks. It’s only on “Something about John Coltrane” that things quiet down. Coltrane switches over to piano and it falls like rain, patterning the space with cool irregularity. When Sanders’ sax beings to scream, you hardly know whether he is laughing or crying. It’s a track animated by intense emotion that takes you in every direction there is. As it drew to a close, I felt as if I had been returned unharmed through a storm, back to the circle of tamboura that had protected me from the start.
In the final track, the live-recorded “Isis and Osiris,” we finally meet Alice’s sadness. Over 11 committed minutes, Vishnu Wood gives us an oud melody that sounds trapped inside the minor scale. The oud’s sound is sharp but resonant. He sobs and he trills, taking the record’s grief to a conclusive pitch. Then everything goes quiet, and the journey is over.
In the long moment before I peeled myself off the floor, I felt the spirit of Coltrane still touched by grief. It’s so hard to describe—to put into the language of words, rather than of sound—but among the record’s abundant mix of emotion, you can hear pain. There is no Journey without John; no Satchidananda without the Swami; no Swami without the grief. Instead of a binary split between music and life, or husband and wife, this record reveals that all these elements of Alice Coltrane’s life existed for her in an all-encompassing divine flow. His name may have cast a shadow over hers, but Alice Coltrane was not trying to escape it.
When I finally opened my eyes, a beam of sunshine flooded through my apartment. Like the cascading harp at the center of the album, the sunbeam seemed to say to me that art is the only thing that exists beyond death. Shadows don’t exist without light. Each defines the other. Alice Coltrane made Journey in Satchidananda from an in-between place, amid the unlocatable flow of different emotions, different lives, different traditions. Coltrane’s music is a journey, this record says, and a destination all of its own.
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Journey in Satchidananda
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Journey in Satchidananda
John Coltrane’s influence on his widow’s fourth solo album is profound, with hypnotic modal constructions and bass ostinatos; the album represents a watershed for her as she forged an identity apart from free jazz. The album was cut shortly after she met guru Swami Satchidananda, which explains the tamboura drones played by Tulsi. “Something About John Coltrane” is redolent with echoes of “A Love Supreme”, with enchanting sax lines by Pharoah Sanders, while “Isis and Osiris” introduces the twangy oud, complementing Alice’s cascading harp lines.
1 February 1971 5 Songs, 37 minutes ℗ 1997 GRP Records Inc.
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Satchidananda means knowledge, existence, bliss. Listen with your "inner ear" to Alice along with Pharoah Sanders, Charlie Haden, Rashid Ali, Cecil McBee and others. Part of Impulse's "best sounding jazz reissue series ever," this CD features audiophile quality remastering and high quality tri-fold digipak with original album art and liner notes with additional rare photos.
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Language : English
- Product Dimensions : 4.88 x 5.63 x 0.51 inches; 3.03 ounces
- Manufacturer : Universal Music Group
- Item model number : 1655008
- Original Release Date : 1997
- Date First Available : December 21, 2006
- Label : Universal Music Group
- ASIN : B000003N9Y
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 1
- #43 in Avant Garde & Free Jazz (CDs & Vinyl)
- #7,950 in Pop (CDs & Vinyl)
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Alice Coltrane ft. Pharoah Sanders – Journey In Satchidananda
One of the all-time jazz classics and an essential listen, Journey In Satchidananda continues Alice Coltrane’s spiritual connection with Pharoah Sanders. From Alice herself in the liner notes: “Anyone listening to this selection should try to envision himself floating on an ocean of Satchinandaji’s love, which is literally carrying countless devotees across the vicissitudes and stormy blasts of life to the other shore. Satchidananda means knowledge, existence, bliss.” You’ve probably heard this album before, but if you haven’t played it in full, eyes closed, in your favorite chair or on the ground for a deep listen, then we highly recommend you do so now. Also, check out this great NPR article on the healing power of Journey In Satchidananda .
Recommended – Full Listen
A1 Journey In Satchidananda A2 Shiva-Loka A3 Stopover Bombay B1 Something About John Coltrane B2 Isis And Osiris
Bass – Cecil McBee (tracks: A1 to B1) Bells, Tambourine – Majid Shabazz (tracks: A1 to B1) Design – Wallace Caldwell Drums – Rashied Ali Engineer – Orville O’Brien, Roy Musgnug Harp, Piano, Liner Notes, Composed By – Alice Coltrane Photography By [Cover] – Chuck Stewart Photography By [Liner] – Chuck Stewart, Ed Michel Producer – Alice Coltrane, Ed Michel Recorded By [Location Recording] – Orville O’Brien (tracks: B2) Soprano Saxophone, Percussion – Pharoah Sanders Tambura [Tamboura] – Tulsi (tracks: A1 to B1)
Sam Gendel & Sam Wilkes – Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar
Les mccann – layers, dexter gordon – one flight up, nina simone – nina simone and piano.
IMAGES
COMMENTS
Journey in Satchidananda is the fourth studio album by American jazz pianist and harpist Alice Coltrane, released in February 1971 on Impulse! Records.The first four tracks were recorded at Coltrane's home studio in Dix Hills, New York, in November 1970, while "Isis and Osiris" was recorded live at the Village Gate in Greenwich Village in July of that year.
A transcendental fuse of modal experimental Jazz and Eastern spirituality, inspired by the teachings of Swami Satchidananda. Track taken from the album of th...
Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupJourney In Satchidananda · Alice Coltrane · Pharoah SandersJourney in Satchidananda℗ A Verve Label Group Release;...
LP, Album, Stereo. Purple Rain. Prince And The Revolution. Released. 1984 — US. Vinyl —. LP, Album. Explore the tracklist, credits, statistics, and more for Journey In Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane Featuring Pharoah Sanders. Compare versions and buy on Discogs.
When the legendary free jazz pioneer Pharoah Sanders joins, ... Alice Coltrane made Journey in Satchidananda from an in-between place, amid the unlocatable flow of different emotions, different ...
Journey in satchidananda. Released — 1971 Recorded — 1970 Length — 37:06 Label — Impulse! Records Producer — Alice Coltrane, Ed Michel. Personnel
Journey in Satchidananda was cut shortly after she met guru Swami Satchidananda, which explains the tamboura drones played by Tulsi. "Something About John Coltrane" is redolent with echoes of "A Love Supreme," with enchanting sax lines by Pharoah Sanders, while "Isis and Osiris" introduces the twangy oud, complementing Alice's ...
Now, I listen to the follow up, Journey in Satchidananda, and find it incredible, for a similar myriad of reasons. Both albums feature the excellent saxophone playing of Pharoah Sanders (though on here he plays soprano sax as opposed to tenor on Ptah), and unsurprisingly Alice's piano and harp contributions are excellent.
Journey in Satchidananda is the title track and first track off Alice Coltrane's fourth album. The instrumental reflects Coltrane's emotions towards the Indian guru, Swami
Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupJourney In Satchidananda · Alice Coltrane · Pharoah SandersThe House That Trane Built: The Best of Impulse Record...
Journey in Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane released in 1971. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic. ... Journey in Satchidananda (1971) World Galaxy (1972) Lord of Lords (1972) Concert in Japan [1973] (1973) Illuminations (1974) Radha-Krsna Nama Sankirtana (1976)
Journey in Satchidananda was cut shortly after she met guru Swami Satchidananda, which explains the tamboura drones played by Tulsi. "Something About John Coltrane" is redolent with echoes of "A Love Supreme," with enchanting sax lines by Pharoah Sanders, while "Isis and Osiris" introduces the twangy oud, complementing Alice's ...
Listen to Journey In Satchidananda on Spotify. Alice Coltrane · Album · 1971 · 5 songs.
Journey in Satchidananda, an Album by Alice Coltrane featuring Pharoah Sanders. Released in February 1971 on Impulse! (catalog no. AS-9203; Vinyl LP). Genres: Spiritual Jazz. Rated #7 in the best albums of 1971, and #132 of all time album.. Featured peformers: Alice Coltrane (harp, composer, producer), Pharoah Sanders (featured, soprano saxophone, percussion), Rashied Ali (drums), Ed Michel ...
Liner Notes - Alice Coltrane. Photography By - Chuck Stewart. Piano - Alice Coltrane ( tracks: 1 to 4) Producer - Alice Coltrane, Ed Michel. Recorded By [Location Recording] - Orville O'Brien ( tracks: 5) Soprano Saxophone, Percussion - Pharoah Sanders. Tambura [Tamboura] - Tulsi ( tracks: 1 to 4) Written-By - Alice Coltrane.
Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupJourney In Satchidananda · Alice Coltrane · Pharoah SandersThe Impulse Story℗ A Verve Label Group Release; ℗ 1971...
Satchidananda means knowledge, existence, bliss. Listen with your "inner ear" to Alice along with Pharoah Sanders, Charlie Haden, Rashid Ali, Cecil McBee and others. Part of Impulse's "best sounding jazz reissue series ever," this CD features audiophile quality remastering and high quality tri-fold digipak with original album art and liner ...
Alice Coltrane (née McLeod; August 27, 1937 - January 12, 2007), also known by her adopted Sanskrit name Turiyasangitananda, was an American jazz musician, c...
One of the all-time jazz classics and an essential listen, Journey In Satchidananda continues Alice Coltrane's spiritual connection with Pharoah Sanders. From Alice herself in the liner notes: "Anyone listening to this selection should try to envision himself floating on an ocean of Satchinandaji's love, which is literally carrying countless devotees across the vicissitudes and stormy blasts ...
First press has Capitol stamp Alice Coltrane Featuring Pharoah Sanders ... Third pressing has WG/NRP Alice Coltrane Featuring Pharoah Sanders - Journey In Satchidananda. Also lacks the sticker from the original version. 190 gr. black vinyl.-Cover-Tracks A1 to B1 - Recorded November 8, 1970, Dix Hills, New York. ...
Album: Journey In Satchidananda (1971)Impulse! - IMP 12282CD rip
Alice Coltrane & Pharoah Sanders - Shiva-Loka, Journey In Satchidananda, 1970 [HD]Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance...
Alice Coltrane Featuring Pharoah Sanders - Journey In Satchidananda. More images. Label:Impulse! - AS 9203, ABC Records - AS 9023, Impulse! - AS-9203, ABC Records - AS-9203: ... Producer - Alice Coltrane, Ed Michel; Recorded By [Location Recording] - Orville O'Brien (tracks: B2)