THE CARNEGIE HALL CONCERT by ALICE COLTRANE

A previously unavailable recording of Coltrane’s 1971 performance at Carnegie Hall benefitting the Integral Yoga Institute. 

The album’s first track, the live performance of “Shiva-Loka,” was originally released on Coltrane’s fourth solo album, Journey in Satchidananda, released a year before the Carnegie Hall show. As Verve notes, the concert arrived at a pivotal moment in both Coltrane’s career and her spiritual journey: she had just released Satchidananda and had deepened her spiritual quest over a five-week trip to India.

The concert featured Satchidananda collaborators Kumar Kramer and Tulsi Reynolds, playing harmonium and tamboura, respectively, alongside a large jazz ensemble comprising two saxophonists (Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp), two bassists (Jimmy Garrison and Cecil McBee) and two drummers (Ed Blackwell and Clifford Jarvis.) Alongside her band, Alice performed a set including two transcendental tracks from Journey in Satchidananda, including “Shiva-Loka,” followed by two compositions by her late husband John Coltrane.