THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “In 1971, Alice Coltrane performed at Carnegie Hall for a special gala benefiting the Integral Yoga Institute. Backed by an all-star group of musicians, Coltrane delivered a captivating set which is now available in full for the very first time.
The performance, held four years after John Coltrane’s untimely passing and recorded by Impulse! for eventual release, marked Alice’s first performance as a leader at Carnegie Hall. It was a pivotal moment in both Coltrane’s career and her spiritual journey: She had just released her fourth solo album, Journey in Satchidananda, and had deepened her spiritual quest over a five-week trip to India.
Her band that night added two members of Satchidananda’s circle — Kumar Kramer and Tulsi Reynolds, playing harmonium and tamboura, respectively — to 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).
Her set included two transcendental tunes from Journey in Satchidananda, followed by two compositions by John Coltrane, and served as a sign of things to come, a chronicle of an artist during a musical and spiritual emergence.”
