The JC Group Giveaway/Review - Alice Coltrane - Translinear Light

[Peterdubya]

Just out on Verve Alice Coltrane's first CD in 25 years.

It's produced by ravi Coltrane and features Ravi, Oran Coltrane, Charlie Haden, James Genus, Jack DeJohnette, and Jeff Watts.

Alice plays piano and Wurlitzer organ.

I'd forgotten how great her organ sound is. I've only been through the CD once (with distractions) but I like it a lot. They do some John Coltrane tunes ( "Leo" and "Crescent") and some originals by Alice.

Ravi sounds great, and with that band it's hard to miss.

I will live with the CD and add more later.

But for now, it's great.

[jazzfiend]

Sounds interesting. Is Oran Ravi's brother, and what does he play?

[Other Steve]

Originally Posted by jazzfiend

Sounds interesting. Is Oran Ravi's brother, and what does he play?

Oran is Ravi's brother, and plays alto sax.

Just a clarification to those inspired to run out and look for this disc: It's not actually released until September 28.

[Richardo Caerleoni]

Not a Big “Alice” Fan…but looks interesting if only for the lineup…
(Big piece on the Verve Website)

TRACKS:


1. Sita Ram
2. Walk With Me
3. Translinear Light
4. Jagadishwar
5. This Train
6. The Hymn
7. Blue Nile
8. Crescent
9. Leo
10. Triloka
11. Satya Sai Isha


Alice Coltrane Leader, Wurlitzer organ , Piano, Synthesizer
Ravi Coltrane (1, 3-4, 7-9) Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Producer
Oran Coltrane (6) Alto Saxophone
Charlie Haden (3, 5, 8, 10) Bass
James Genus (2, 4, 7) Bass
Jack DeJohnette (1, 3, 5, 8, 9) Drums
Jeff "Tain" Watts (2, 4, 7) Drums

[Darryl G. Thomas]

The lineup looks impressive. But I'm not that much of an Alice fan myself. Let's just say I have ambivalent feelings about her music.

[Other Steve]

I honestly do think the only thing people might find offputting about this disc is the choral-vocal closing track. The rest is pretty impressive.

[Peterdubya]

Well, I've listened several times now, the CD has a really nice feeling. There is a spiritual feeling through a lot of it, you can hear a bit of Africa too. One track reminds me of Don Pullen's "Kele Mu Bana" but I digress.
Ravi's playing throughout is really nice. Strong, interesting and at times really beautiful.
Alice too demonstrates a lot of the above. I just love her organ playing, the Wurlitzer has a great sound, she bends notes and really burns on it. It may not be for everyone, there is almost a 'fusion-ish' quality to the sound of the organ.
Her piano playing is strong and I can't find anything negative to say about it. If you're excpecting McCoy Tyner's chops, this may not be your CD, but listen to the whole thing and it's a nice journey. I am really happy with the CD.

[Peterdubya]

I'm surprised at the lack of response to this CD. I thought it had Jazz Corner written all over it, I thought it would garner praises from Reynolds, Chris A, and Rob Damien alike. I thought that Monte Smith and Patricia would bond over this one.

Nice review of it in the new JAzztimes.

I like it still, especially the sound of Alice's organ. It's pretty cool.

[Sergio Zamora]

Is this really her first recording in 25 years? I thought she did some self-released stuff to support her temple.

[Dennis Gonzalez]

Originally Posted by Peterdubya

I'm surprised at the lack of response to this CD. I thought it had Jazz Corner written all over it, I thought it would garner praises from Reynolds, Chris A, and Rob Damien alike. I thought that Monte Smith and Patricia would bond over this one.

PW, I still know people who speak of Alice as the Yoko Ono of jazz. They just won't listen to her because she took McCoy's place, and they compare her to him. They also peg her as a crazy old lady hooked on Eastern religion and say shit like "she can't swing". They also say that she wasn't good enough to play with Coltrane himself.

That's all old bullshit, but people can't get over themselves.

This may not mean shit to anyone, but I think she's amazing...a beautiful, sincere musician. This may: When I recorded "Catechism", Keith Tippett was playing all this Alice Coltrane sounding piano, and I asked him about it. He raved about her and said that he'd been listening non-stop to her music in the days before the session. Said he couldn't get enough. That's how I feel.

[Lois Gilbert]

Actually Peterdubya it does have JC written all over it and we'll be giving away 10 copies starting next week

PS I called you

[Jon Abbey]

I saw a concert maybe 4-5 years ago at Town Hall with Ravi Shankar and his daughter, followed by Alice and Ravi Coltrane. Ravi sounded so beautiful on Crescent, it was like he was channeling his dad. nice to see they put that on here...

[john williams]

I always liked Journey to Satchidananda, which seems unpopular for some reason. I though Pharaoh sounded terrific on it.

[Lois Gilbert]

1. Sita Ram (traditional)
2. Walk With Me (traditional)
3. Translinear Light (Alice Coltrane)
4. Jagadishwar (Alice Coltrane)
5. This Train (traditional)
6. The Hymn (Alice Coltrane)
7. Blue Nile (Alice Coltrane)
8. Crescent (John Coltrane)
9. Leo (John Coltrane)
10. Triloka (Alice Coltrane)
11. Satya Sai Isha (traditional)
Produced by Ravi Coltrane

Personnel
Alice Coltrane – Wurlitzer organ (1, 5, 9, 11), piano (2, 3, 7, 8, 10),
synthesizer (4, 6)
Ravi Coltrane – tenor saxophone (4, 7, 8, 9), soprano saxophone (3)
Oran Coltrane – alto saxophone (6)
Charlie Haden – bass (3, 5, 8, 10)
James Genus – bass (2, 4, 7)
Jack DeJohnette – drums (3, 5, 8, 9), synth drums (1)
Jeff “Tain”Watts – drums (2, 4, 7)
The Sai Anantam Ashram Singers – vocals (11)

[Lois Gilbert]

Thanks to the Verve Music Group, Jazzcorner has 10 copies to giveaway to be reviewed. This is open worldwide - however -- those of you who have participated in past review giveaways and did not review or did not review within the time frame we all agreed upon, will not be eligible.

People will be chosen at random - with the winning reviewers announced on Friday

Email only please:

lois@jazzcorner.com only with:

Screen Name
Real Name
Address
Phone #
Valid email


Thank you all for your participation!

[Jesse]

Dennis:
In my very first post to you, re: Catechism, I referred to Tippett's "mantra-like" playing, or something close to that. The Alice thing makes sense of what (in part) he was channeling & I am hearing!

I realy love her duet w/Haden on Closeness.

[VIBEr]

I bought this the other day, and I concur with Peterdubya and Dennis's observations. This record is in the same style as her seventies recordings, except that there is no harp on this CD. It must have given her tremendous satisfaction to be able to play with Ravi; I can just get a feeling of the specialness of the occasion.

As Peterdubya mentions, the organ playing is just great, about as far away as you can get from the traditional Hammond sound. I'm reminded of the period when Santana recorded the albums Welcome and Lotus using the Yamaha organ on Alice's arrangement of "Goin' Home" in addition to the usual Larry Young-inspired Hammond playing.

[Lois Gilbert]

As anticipated we had an overwhelming response, I let my son just pick at random from all the emails that came in, so I don't want you to think I have any favorites. Verve will get your full addresses on Monday, and I expect you will get the CD shortly thereafter. Let's shoot for Nov 5th barring any unforseen circumstances.

Thank you again, and it will be wonderful to see your reviews.

1. Walto
Arlington, MA

2. Scott Dolan
Jefferson City, MO

3. relyles
Bloomfield, CT

4. bluenoter
Washington, DC

5. Dennis Gonzalez
Dallas, TX

6. lazarus
Sweden

7. me wag
Irving, TX

8. Jesse
Minneapolis. MN

9. Jim Dye
Murfreesboro, TN

10. Dick Bowman
London, England

[walto]

Cool, thanks. I'll look forward to hearing it.

Originally Posted by walto

Cool, thanks. I'll look forward to hearing it.

Me too!!

[Lois Gilbert]

I believe, Verve will be mailing out the cds tomorrow. So starting let us know when they appear in your mailbox
Best Lois

[walto]

I got mine yesterday, for which many thanks. Haven't heard it yet. After I do give it a few spins, is this where I post my review?

[Jim Dye]

Thank you, Lois! I really look forward to listening and reviewing!

[relyles]

I received the disc yesterday. I hope to give it a few listens over the weekend and post my review early next week.

[walto]

Originally Posted by Jim Dye

Hey! That's a damn fine idea. We could rent out our avatars like billboards.

Wow--bait and switch already. I just wanted that (presumably economical) space that used to be under your name. Now you're obviously trolling for high rollers!

[JPCLEJAZZ]

Alice Coltrane, "Translinear Light"
This disc recalls us with essence: the spirit which nourished the "Love Supreme" of famous and eternal Trane.
JPCLEJAZZ

[Lois Gilbert]

Originally Posted by walto

I got mine yesterday, for which many thanks. Haven't heard it yet. After I do give it a few spins, is this where I post my review?

Yes this is where you post reviews. We agreed by November 5

Best Lois

PS Please try to stick to reviews. Thanks

[Dennis Gonzalez]

Translinear Light: the light that transcends the limits of what we know about it and flows into the realm of the "transcendental glories of divine Consciousness". I don't know why this manisfestation of the Divine chose Alice Coltrane those years ago to be the vessel and the discloser of the transcendental knowledge she speaks of in her words and her music so faithfully. But this new work, her first major label release in 25 years, is a wellspring of worshipful devotion, beauty, and hope.

The sound of her Wurlitzer, which I first heard on "Lord of Lords", and which back then sounded like the embodiment of John Coltrane's deep tenor sound, has now been tempered into what I feel is her voice, lighter and more ethereal (as she described John Coltrane's transformation upon his death), with twists and turns and bends like a mountain road that leads higher and higher into the clouds - grounded in the earth and rising to the heavens. On the traditional Hindu jyothi, "Sita Ram" - a mantra that is thought of as a sonic embodiment of Vishnu - this Wurlitzer sound and the lines Alice Coltrane plays are fleeting and slippery, with Jack DeJohnette on sampled tambura (triggered by his electronic drums) and Ravi Coltrane on believable tabla. The flow of her lines over bar lines and form is one of the beauties of her playing. She all but obliterates the constraints of the changes while remaining entrenched in them - a great paradox which gives her music much of its power and spirituality.

When she sits down at the piano, though, the clouds open up and the foundations of the music are rocked to the core. She has such strength in her approach to the piano, and her touch and open-chord approach can be compared to someone like Chucho Valdez, a sharing of the link between African-American gospel and Afro-Cuban piano trio music. James Genus, the bassist on three cuts, has a wonderful, deep sound, and the engineers captured it in all its quiet strength, whereas Jeff Watts seems to be lost as to what exactly to do with the now rubato - now swinging "Walk With Me". He comes up with a much overused soft rock 4/4 pattern under the swelling piano and bass, which threaten to bowl him over in his weakness. He should be using mallets on the cymbals and toms and to build with the crescendos - maybe a tympani or two - but he never rises to the importance of the session. Undaunted, Coltrane forges ahead and ends triumphantly.

Ravi Coltrane the soprano player and Ravi Coltrane the tenor player are two different people. On soprano, he plays an almost smooth jazz sound, with sweetness and lightness which seem a bit out of place in the hurricanes and earthquakes of his mother's playing style. But once he discards the Charles Lloyd mantle on his tenor, he becomes the tenorist Ravi Coltrane, as on "Leo", "Crescent", and "Blue Nile". The CD is well-programmed, even though the music is from 5 separate recording dates, and though the soprano is a bit soft tonewise, its entry on "Translinear Light" is a welcome change from the previous two trio tracks, and the entrance of her old friend Charlie Haden (whose sound is not much different from Genus') is sparkling and wonderful. The DeJohnette on this track seems to retain some of his old fire, but I still miss the creative, polymetric approach of his classic ECM sessions.

The version of "Leo" here is much like the version on Transfiguration, and this is where Ravi begins to amaze me. His lines sound like the original live recording of Alice's trio version from 1978, as if he has listened to that take from the time it was laid down, and now he becomes another Wurlitzer, so that he and his mother are swirling in and around each other, and it becomes difficult to separate them at times. In the ecstasy of the moment, one can get lost in the sound, and the close-to-ten-minutes track becomes, at least in my mind, a fleeting track that seems to go by in a minute and a half.

I'm a bit conflicted by the last track, "Satya Sai Isha", which is a chant for inner transformation. It comes at the end of the CD, after the lovely duo of Haden and Coltrane (bass and piano), which is reminsiscent of the duo they played on Haden's album Closeness (except that Alice played harp on that session)...and though I must say that the slightly out-of-kilter singing is heartfelt, and I certainly love the feeling of devotion, it doesn't seem to fit the concept of the album, sonically. If she had orchestrated it, it would have been reminiscent of Lord of Lords, but as it sits on the album, it seems a bit bare-bones in its approach. On the other hand, I can see myself amongst the congregation of devotees blissfully losing myself in the swirl of voices and Wurlitzer, singing away the heavy cares of my heart.

[Lois Gilbert]

Tell me Dennis, is there anything you don't do with beauty, articulation and spirit? A stunning and honest review. Thank you

[Jesse]

Dennis:
Nicely done. Your deep listening alerted me to a couple of qualities I hadn't sussed out on an initial listen. On my 2nd listening through, I think you have found more rewards here than I have. More to come from me, but I wanted to give a shout out for your generous review.