Here’s a previously unissued recording of Alice Coltrane caught at the height of her musical and spiritual powers. She’s performing at Carnegie Hall for a benefit helping the Integral Yoga Institute back in 1971. Having just recorded her album Journey in Satchidananda, she’s teamed with musicians associated wit John Coltrane such as Pharoah Sanders/Archie Shepp/ss-ts, Jimmy Garrison-Cecil McBee/b and Ed Blackwell-Clifford Jarvis/dr as well as Ms. Coltrane’s own “Kumar Kramer/harmonium and Tulsi Reynolds/tamboura for a four song set.
Coltrane fans will eat alive the 28 minute torrential read of “Africa” with some wild drumming and stretched out bass soloing. “Journey in Stachidananda” is a meditative and gentle journey, with restrained soprano sax and heavenly harp. The strings flow with grace on ”Shiva-Loka” with a nice swinging cadence throughout, before the concert ends with a mix of vehement tribal percussion and chaotic clashes of reeds on the anguished “Leo”. An important bridge is crossed on this album that gives thought to re-evaluationg Ms. Coltrane’s importance as a jazz artist.