Product Description Transcendence is ALICE COLTRANE's most successful vocal album. Side two is especially mind-twisting for its use of surprisingly funky Hindu chants accompanied by Alice's organ and the Indian percussion of the singers. Purists might balk at calling Hare Krishna filtered through a gospel sensibility jazz, but they're too busy arguing about Ken Burns' documentary to worry about Alice Coltrane reissues anyway. This is probably the most swinging Alice Coltrane material since Ptah The El Daoud. About the Artist Music runs in Alice Coltrane's family; her older brother, bassist Ernie Farrow, played in the '50s and '60s bands of Barry Harris, Stan Getz, Terry Gibbs and, most notably, Yusef Lateef. Alice McLeod began studying classical music at the age of seven. She attended Detroit's Cass Technical High School with pianist Hugh Lawson and drummer Earl Williams. As a young woman she played in church, and in Lateef's and Kenny Burrell's bands, eventually traveling to Paris in 1959 to study with Bud Powell. She met John Coltrane while touring and recording with Gibbs in the early '60s, married the saxophonist in 1965, and joined his band - replacing McCoy Tyner - a year later. She stayed with John's band until his death in 1967, and subsequently formed her own bands with players such as Pharoah Sanders, Joe Henderson, Frank Lowe, Carlos Ward, Rashied Ali and Jimmy Garrison. Coltrane moved to California in 1972. She became increasingly concerned with spiritual matters, founding a center for the study of Eastern religions in 1975.
V**N
Nothing to say
Only good
M**Y
Lost ethereal classic from 1977
Think 1977. The UK media were getting obssessed with Punk, Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' was laying down the blueprint for so much future Dance music, Bob Marley and the Wailers released the excellent album 'Exodus'. The 1960's/early 1970's Jazz rock fusion scene was losing popularity and attention. Yet unasuming Alice Coltrane, classically trained, one time Be Bop musician, widow of Modern Jazz genius John Coltrane recorded 'Transcendence'. Easily as ground breaking as the work released by afromentioned artists. Inspired by Indian mysticism and music : The first half of the album highlights three instrumentals. 'Radhe-Shyam' and 'Vrindavana Sanchara' combine what would later be called ambient with harp playing and strings. The latter track touching 'drone' ambient. There is great musical precision in evidence, Alice Coltrane managed to forge new soundscapes but navigated away from over indulgence. The title track follows, starting with more harp playing then strings reminscent of classical modernism, perhaps of Stravinsky, gradually are interwoven into the piece. The rest of the album consist of four tracks which are a fusion of Indian mantra and Gospel, with some organ playing and percussion. Divisions between different genres of music are relentlessly broken down in the most joyful way possible. Ultimately a dynamic and quite unique album,sublime and uplifting.
M**N
The Beautiful Alice Continued...
Transcendence is truly an album of two halves. The first three tracks - Side One, as it were - comprise of Alice Coltrane playing harp against self-orchestrated strings (by this point an Alice Coltrane signature). The second half (side two) - is Alice playing the organ against a full percussion section and Hindu-prayer-chanting small vocal choir. Both sides are brilliant, at times even beautiful, but whether they qualify as a unified album is more contentious.The first three tunes are the most characteristic of Alice, with threads running back to her superlative Journey in Satchindananda album. It's difficult to pick among the three, but Vrindavana Sanchara has a subtle interweaving spell-binding percussive track, while the title track has the most psychedelic, ever-decending-yet-curiously-uplifting string section.The latter four tunes each has a groovy, understated funk - almost at odds with the spiritual content of the lyrics (translated within the booklet). But, taken as a whole, perhaps they don't QUITE have the power to hold one's full attention. A shame, as the best of Alice Coltrane's work (Universal Consciousness, Journey in Satchindananda, World Galaxy) never ceases to do just that.In 1977 this album stood out like a sore thumb. When most had abandoned the spiritual road for new aural and production assaults, Alice simply looked within and expressed herself.That Alice Coltrane followed her own path must be applauded, as her entire solo career makes astoundingly clear.We should all be grateful.Maybe some of Alice's other works made her point with a finer brush, but Transcendence is a gorgeous, subtle margin to frame her recorded work for the best part of the following two decades, and it allowed Alice a long, gracious bow.
L**S
tranquille transcendence
Un disque peut-être un peu à part dans le travail d'Alice. Directement lié aux musiques spirituelles de l'Inde; où la harpe estsouvent au premier plan. Des climats sereins, qui peuvent nous aider à nous connecter à notre profondeur...
E**R
Perfect!
Excellent album, arrived well-packaged.
J**R
gift
Great sound and well appreciated
R**H
Five Stars
I've been looking for this for decades, transcendent music.
L**I
In a word: Transcendent
Performed by John Coltrane's spiritual widow Alice is a selection of very special mantras, combined with chanting and two haunting instrumentals. All of them are exceptionally and accurately done, especially the mantras/kirtans which are true to their Hindu origin; the instrumentals have more of an improvisational, free-form feel. This CD works equally well either as background sound during meditation or for pleasurable listening. Entirely transcendental and pleasantly transporting.
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