Alice Coltrane Quartet featuring Ravi Coltrane with
Charlie Haden & Roy Haynes
Saturday, November 4 • 8pm
$85
$65
$47
$37
$25
“She has lost none of her capacity to thrill listeners."
— Bill Milkowski
Program Notes
Superlatives fail when discussing jazz legends, especially
those who, like Alice Coltrane, are already surrounded by an
aura of reverence. As the matriarch of one of jazz’s most
venerated families, and a powerful originator of sweeping organ,
piano, and harp sounds (as featured on her husband John’s
later quartet recordings and her own powerful albums) Alice Coltrane
is beyond compare.
A native of Detroit, Alice MacLeod was already
a veteran of Kenny Burrell and Lucky Thompson’s bands when
she met her future husband, John Coltrane, while touring with
vibist Terry Gibbs. The two formed a musical and spiritual communion
whose impact is still felt today. After establishing her own
voice as a bandleader on albums like Ptah the El Daoud,
Coltrane stepped out of the limelight to establish her Vedantic
Center in Southern California.
Coltrane’s son Ravi, a powerful saxophonist and arranger,
gently fostered his mother’s return to public performance.
The two played together early in Ravi’s career, but the
young saxophonist wasn’t satisfied with the result. “It
was unbelievably premature,” he told DownBeat. “I
didn’t want that to be the last memory of me collaborating
with my mother.” That problem was resolved with Alice’s
return to recording, 2004’s Translinear Light.
Despite her long lay off, critic Bill Milkowski noted Coltrane “has
lost none of her ability to thrill listeners.”
Even among exceedingly rare Alice Coltrane concerts, tonight’s
performance is especially extraordinary, as it is one of only
three U. S. dates to witness Alice leading a once-in-a-lifetime
super group featuring Grammy winner Charlie Haden, whose storied
music career includes a longtime association with Ornette Coleman
and his own explorations of Americana; and NEA Jazz Master and
longtime John Coltrane collaborator Roy Haynes.
Personnel:
- Alice Coltrane, piano and harp
- Ravi Coltrane, saxophone
- Charlie Haden, bass
- Roy Haynes, drums
