Alice Coltrane ‎– Journey In Satchidananda

Ltd. Black heavyweight vinyl LP (Impulse)

Originally released 1971 and her fourth solo album. Coltrane met her guru Swami Satchidananda in 1970, travelling to India with him, and taking on the name Turiyasangitananda. Sangit means music in Sanskrit, and Coltrane translated her adopted name as ‘the transcendental lord’s highest song of bliss’. Hinduism, she felt, could best accommodate the Universalist vision she and John had explored together, and that syncretic approach is reflected in the world music fusion of Journey In Satchidananda . The title track is Coltrane’s best known tune, and deservedly so, with harp and tamboura wrapping themselves around Cecil McBee’s mantra-like bassline. ‘Isis And Osiris’ reflects Coltrane’s interest in Egyptian cosmology, with Vishnu Wood’s oud cutting through the mystical drift. This is the album which begins Coltrane’s voyage beyond jazz, and it’s as innovative as it is accessible.

(The Quietus)

Tracklist