My Five Year Plan

People weren’t happy when John Coltrane’s wife Alice replaced McCoy Tyner the legendary saxophonist’s pianist. And why would they be? After all, Tyner was (and still is) considered one of the two or three definitive jazz pianists of the latter half of the twentieth century and a definitive force in shaping Coltrane’s sound, where Alice was a relatively untested bebop pianist who cut her teeth on Yusuf Lateef records. And though she never got much of a chance to prove herself as a side(wo)man, her subsequent solo career after Coltrane’s death revealed her one of the most beguiling and singular figures in jazz of the late 20th century.

Journeying even farther down the rabbit hole of Eastern spirituality John had injected into his late recordings, Alice’s work was a fervent melding of modal jazz and traditional Indian and near-Eastern musics. Take, for example, the pioneering live set Journey in Satchidananda, which integrates Turkish oud and Indian tamboura as well as Alice’s signature harp into Alice’s dazzlingly complex compositions.

Deeply devoted to spiritual pursuits, Coltrane abandoned jazz for a number of years to focus solely on devotional works, essaying a defiantly personal string of modal ragas for Wurlitzer. After years of relative seclusion, she returned in 2004 with her final studio album, Translinear Light, backed by an all-star band including her sons Ravi and Oran, bassist Charlie Laden, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. For those unfamiliar with Alice Coltrane, I’ve included a sample track by this singular, irreplaceable figure of late-century jazz, the title track from the aforementioned Journey in Satchidananda, featuring solos by Pharoah Sanders on saxophone and Coltrane on harp.

Alice Coltrane - “Journey in Satchidananda”