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Product Description
Two of her most sought after albums. Swirling celestial harp glissandi, manic organ flourishes, modal grooves & more!
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
These Impulse 2-on-1 releases are great, or at least the Alice Coltrane ones are.
On Huntington Ashram Monastery Ron Carter's bass is sublime, and Rashied Ali controls his kaleidoscopic rhythms sufficiently that the trio bring the music into a wonderful paradoxical diffuse focus, loose and shimmering, but always restrained and together. One of Alice's most harp-heavy recordings, at least on what was the 'first side' of the LP (tracks one to three), with more piano on 'side two' (tracks four to six). Most of side one belongs to the beautifully shimmering side of her repertoire, albeit less focussed than her greatest recordings. I'd give this album on its own four stars, maybe even just three, 'Via Sivanandagar' being an unusual change to of pace in her predominantly calmer repertoire (to hyperspeed!), and 'IHS' taking it bit too far out for my tastes. But it comes back home to planet earth on the final track, in the bluesiness of 'Jaya Jaya Rama'.
The pairing of albums Impulse has chosen is a bit odd: here they combine this 1969 recording, which precedes Ptah The El Daoud, one of my favourite and, I think, amongst her best recordings, and is separated from the other album here, 1972s World Galaxy, by another three recordings as well as Ptah. World Galaxy is an amazing beast: book-ended by tracks indelibly stamped in the jazz mind as signature John Coltrane numbers, she nevertheless succeeds in both making them her own, and celebrating their connectedness to her late husband, in a way that one can't conceive of many people successfully pulling off. Her version of 'A Love Supreme', essentially a drum and organ duet with strings (and a couple of other solos, including a LeRoy Jenkins violin solo that, frankly, I could live without) is, well, astonishing. But she starts with 'My Favourite Things', taking the schmaltzy tune that her husband had already liberated and turned inside out even further from its saccharine origins than he had. Between these two 'Trane standards come three 'Galaxy Around/In...' titles ('Galaxy Around Olodumare', 'Galaxy in Turiya', etc.).
And in line with the latter titles, Alice Coltrane and co., enriched by her unusual and very modern string arrangements (never were strings added, and consonant harmonious strings by and large, to less of a sugar-coated effect) the musicians do indeed reveal whole 'other worlds' of music. Huntington Ashram Monastery is pretty damn good, but by Alice's own high standards it's merely okay, whereas World Galaxy, bonkers and by no means music for all occasions, is truly sublime. So the six stars I would like to give it balance the lesser amount for HAM, leaving the whole package a five star affair, especially at the 'practically giving it away price' I paid (roughly a fiver).
Amazing music!
On Huntington Ashram Monastery Ron Carter's bass is sublime, and Rashied Ali controls his kaleidoscopic rhythms sufficiently that the trio bring the music into a wonderful paradoxical diffuse focus, loose and shimmering, but always restrained and together. One of Alice's most harp-heavy recordings, at least on what was the 'first side' of the LP (tracks one to three), with more piano on 'side two' (tracks four to six). Most of side one belongs to the beautifully shimmering side of her repertoire, albeit less focussed than her greatest recordings. I'd give this album on its own four stars, maybe even just three, 'Via Sivanandagar' being an unusual change to of pace in her predominantly calmer repertoire (to hyperspeed!), and 'IHS' taking it bit too far out for my tastes. But it comes back home to planet earth on the final track, in the bluesiness of 'Jaya Jaya Rama'.
The pairing of albums Impulse has chosen is a bit odd: here they combine this 1969 recording, which precedes Ptah The El Daoud, one of my favourite and, I think, amongst her best recordings, and is separated from the other album here, 1972s World Galaxy, by another three recordings as well as Ptah. World Galaxy is an amazing beast: book-ended by tracks indelibly stamped in the jazz mind as signature John Coltrane numbers, she nevertheless succeeds in both making them her own, and celebrating their connectedness to her late husband, in a way that one can't conceive of many people successfully pulling off. Her version of 'A Love Supreme', essentially a drum and organ duet with strings (and a couple of other solos, including a LeRoy Jenkins violin solo that, frankly, I could live without) is, well, astonishing. But she starts with 'My Favourite Things', taking the schmaltzy tune that her husband had already liberated and turned inside out even further from its saccharine origins than he had. Between these two 'Trane standards come three 'Galaxy Around/In...' titles ('Galaxy Around Olodumare', 'Galaxy in Turiya', etc.).
And in line with the latter titles, Alice Coltrane and co., enriched by her unusual and very modern string arrangements (never were strings added, and consonant harmonious strings by and large, to less of a sugar-coated effect) the musicians do indeed reveal whole 'other worlds' of music. Huntington Ashram Monastery is pretty damn good, but by Alice's own high standards it's merely okay, whereas World Galaxy, bonkers and by no means music for all occasions, is truly sublime. So the six stars I would like to give it balance the lesser amount for HAM, leaving the whole package a five star affair, especially at the 'practically giving it away price' I paid (roughly a fiver).
Amazing music!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
They laughed at Sun Ra, too
21 Nov 2011
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Another in the "twofer" reissues of Impulse jazz albums, this offering rather oddly pairs together two albums from different eras by the late Alice Coltrane, including "Huntington Ashram Monastery" and "World Galaxy".
The May 1969 sessions that comprise the "Huntington Ashram" LP paired up Coltrane on classical harp and piano, in a trio with bass virtuoso Ron Carter, and former John Coltrane sideman Rashied Ali on drums and percussion. Not surprisingly, it is the classical harp that provides the main departure from jazz convention, and the complex, diffuse drumming style and percussion touches of Ali fits in perfectly. Also predictably, Ron Carter's playing is superb throughout, utilizing both finger-picking and bow.
Meanwhile, the November 1971 sessions that comprise "World Galaxy" feature Alice Coltrane on classical harp and organ, with Frank Lowe on sax, former John Coltrane sideman Reggie Workman on bass, Leroy Jenkins on solo violin, and Ben Riley on drums, plus tamboura, and an entire orchestral string section.
"World Galaxy" might be the single most misunderstood album ever to be released on the Impulse label. Some people put together the overt Eastern spirituality, the string section, and the "Yellow Submarine" type Peter Max cover art, and cynically dismiss it out of hand as some sort of dated, have-a-nice-day, new age kitsch. Others have been put off by what they perceive as Coltrane's sacreligious re-interpretation of two of her late husband's most iconic jazz classics; including "My Favorite Things" and "A Love Supreme". Well, they're missing out. IMO this was the album that really established Alice Coltrane as the high priestess of the avant-garde. This group of musicians sounded like none before or since, as Coltrane pushed the frontiers beyond jazz, classical, and fusion, while including them all.
Coltrane employed an eerie Wurlitzer organ techique that sounded like a cross between a harpsichord and the ondioline that Al Kooper used on the early Blues Project albums. Her organ smears sound like a flying saucer hovering through the music. The strings often evoke a sense of vast time, almost cinematic, conjuring epic visions of ancient civilization along the Nile. Frank Lowe unleashes startling, discordant bursts of free jazz on sax, and Workman and Jenkins both solo on bass and violin. The multi-layered music is at times almost frightening in it's power and overwhelming sense of intergalactic space. Most amazingly of all, it never sounds bombastic or pretentious. Coltrane seemed to truly channel divine cosmic inspiration into the music.
Finally, a word about the remastering on these two albums, which is superb. The sound on "World Galaxy" is dramatically improved over the import CD reissue that I previously owned, revealing nuances in the multi-layered music that I'd prevously missed. Alice Coltrane was just too far ahead of her time, perhaps this outstanding reissue will generate some well deserved new appreciation.
The May 1969 sessions that comprise the "Huntington Ashram" LP paired up Coltrane on classical harp and piano, in a trio with bass virtuoso Ron Carter, and former John Coltrane sideman Rashied Ali on drums and percussion. Not surprisingly, it is the classical harp that provides the main departure from jazz convention, and the complex, diffuse drumming style and percussion touches of Ali fits in perfectly. Also predictably, Ron Carter's playing is superb throughout, utilizing both finger-picking and bow.
Meanwhile, the November 1971 sessions that comprise "World Galaxy" feature Alice Coltrane on classical harp and organ, with Frank Lowe on sax, former John Coltrane sideman Reggie Workman on bass, Leroy Jenkins on solo violin, and Ben Riley on drums, plus tamboura, and an entire orchestral string section.
"World Galaxy" might be the single most misunderstood album ever to be released on the Impulse label. Some people put together the overt Eastern spirituality, the string section, and the "Yellow Submarine" type Peter Max cover art, and cynically dismiss it out of hand as some sort of dated, have-a-nice-day, new age kitsch. Others have been put off by what they perceive as Coltrane's sacreligious re-interpretation of two of her late husband's most iconic jazz classics; including "My Favorite Things" and "A Love Supreme". Well, they're missing out. IMO this was the album that really established Alice Coltrane as the high priestess of the avant-garde. This group of musicians sounded like none before or since, as Coltrane pushed the frontiers beyond jazz, classical, and fusion, while including them all.
Coltrane employed an eerie Wurlitzer organ techique that sounded like a cross between a harpsichord and the ondioline that Al Kooper used on the early Blues Project albums. Her organ smears sound like a flying saucer hovering through the music. The strings often evoke a sense of vast time, almost cinematic, conjuring epic visions of ancient civilization along the Nile. Frank Lowe unleashes startling, discordant bursts of free jazz on sax, and Workman and Jenkins both solo on bass and violin. The multi-layered music is at times almost frightening in it's power and overwhelming sense of intergalactic space. Most amazingly of all, it never sounds bombastic or pretentious. Coltrane seemed to truly channel divine cosmic inspiration into the music.
Finally, a word about the remastering on these two albums, which is superb. The sound on "World Galaxy" is dramatically improved over the import CD reissue that I previously owned, revealing nuances in the multi-layered music that I'd prevously missed. Alice Coltrane was just too far ahead of her time, perhaps this outstanding reissue will generate some well deserved new appreciation.
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