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Travesty or Genius?
21 Jan2008
PEACE ON EARTH
LIVING SPACE
John Coltrane
Infinity
Impulse : 1972
JC, tenor sax; Alice Coltrane, harp, piano, organ, vibes, tamboura, tympani; strings composed, arranged, and conducted by AC. On “Peace On Earth” add: Charlie Haden, bass; Rashied Ali, percussion. On “Living Space” add: McCoy Tyner, piano; Jimmy Garrison, bass; Elvin Jones, drums; Oran Coltrane, bells; Joan Chapman, tamboura.
Travesty!
The nerve! Alice Coltrane’s reputation was already shaky within traditional jazz circles in the early 1970s. You can just about still hear the echoes of righteous indignation that rolled in when she took previously unreleased performances from her sainted husband circa 1965 and 1966, and superimposed a blanket of strings, harp, Indian drones. Rerecorded her own solos. Dropped Charlie Haden in there. Coltrane with strings? Heresy! With performances including members of the classic quartet, no less. It was like somebody spraying graffiti on the Mona Lisa to “improve” it. Critics spat and subsequently pretended the album never existed. Infinity has the dubious distinction of being one of the only Coltrane albums never to have been released in the U.S. on CD. It’s barely cited in Ben Ratliff’s recent bio, and even there merely as a reference point for defining the kozmigroov aesthetic.
Genius!
Nothing less than a complete recontextualizing and reimagining of John Coltrane’s music. A meeting of two highly developed aesthetics. A stirring audio seance where Alice communes with the spirit of her dead husband, creating an intricate high-wire act that few, if any, would’ve had the cohones to even contemplate. Infinity features fiery performances, dreamy strings, tangy drones. It bravely hints at directions John Coltrane’s music might have taken. Imagine him sitting in on one of Alice’s solo albums from this period — and voila. Forget the hand-ringing about how great this music would sound without Alice’s cosmic interventions. There’s plenty of wonderful material from that period to enjoy, and this is a one-of-kind marvel.
The proof is the listening. At the very least, we vote Infinity to be an incredibly interesting and satisfying curio. What’s your take?
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
But don’t listen to us: check out what Brian Olewnick thought, at least at the time he wrote this AMG review.
And here’s a very fine write-up by David Grundy, of the streams of expression blog, who also has a good, if distressing, recent post on the closing of London’s storied Red Rose Club.
22 Responses to Travesty or Genius?
Lars Gotrich
January 21st, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I found this record shoveled in the Coltrane section at my old college radio station while DJ-ing my free-jazz show one night. I was immediately drawn to the psychedelic artwork and played it on the show that night unheard. Needless to say I was flabbergasted – and so were a few of my listeners – but extremely intrigued. I think I read somewhere that Alice claims that she and John had been talking about doing something very similar to the outcome of Infinity. Why wouldn’t have he taken on a full-size string orchestra? I can only imagine the works he had in his head. Granted, maybe it wouldn’t have sounded as “mashed-up” as Infinity, but it certainly gave us a lot of what ifs to consider.
Thanks for the MP3s. I regret not having digitally archived this LP when I had the chance.
doug w
January 21st, 2008 at 9:58 pm
The kozmigroov aesthetic– as questionably defined as it may be– clearly embraces provocative couplings, so INFINITY is hardly considered a travesty from that perspective. It’s a wonderful spin and its apparent lack of documentation on the site is more likely owing to the notion that it doesn’t really fit the genre. I dunno, outside of possibly the title cut to KULU SE MAMA, I’d hesitate to refer to any of John Coltrane’s music as kozmigroov.
Given the swirling beauty of this record, it’s difficult to realize just how provocative this album must’ve been at the time. With Miles dropping ON THE CORNER in the same year, it must’ve prompted some kinda vitriol crisis amongst the jazzerati.
JF
January 21st, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Not bad at all. Wonderful solos by Coltrane (John). Sounds a bit patched together, as it was. Similar to her other work of the period, though -very interesting but not essential. Really evokes the era for me. Great post. Thanks.
Vijay Iyer
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:26 am
I am loving this. Why does Alice get treated like the Yoko Ono of jazz? (Not that Yoko deserved it either.) Look, musically she totally knew what was happening, and everything she added fits. More than fits – it shines. I’d have mixed Trane higher, is all.
peter breslin
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Vijay Iyer, thanks for that, totally agree. John Coltrane had cred somehow that Alice McLeod lacked…sexism? racism? snobbery? whatever it was, even folks who could go down the long and roiling road with John Coltrane all the way to the end turned (and still turn) their noses up at Turiya. I did too, for many years. For me, it was simply an inability to hear where she took the harmonic and energetic dimensions of John Coltrane’s last group. I wrote her off because her gospel inflected, blues soaked and modified pentatonic tapestries sounded deceptively simple but was actually totally over my head in the context of JC’s group work.
PB
cjc
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Hey Vijay – you’re absolutely right about how Alice C gets treated as the Yoko Ono of jazz. we wrote a bit about that on our first Alice post focusing on her amazing “World Galaxy.” there’s definitely some sexism in play in both cases as well as an inability of (largely male) critics to hear what was radical and compelling in both their musics. in some cases, their achievements were more radical than what their famous husbands achieved. nice that they’re both starting to get their dues. personally i think Infinity is top shelf.
And yeah, Peter i initially had similar reaction to Alice (and Ono) before i realized i was being done in by my own ignorance.
Nice point Doug about ON THE CORNER and this dropping the same year. love the idea of a vitriol crisis.
gaston
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Two things. First, I think “Living Space” is particularly fair game because Coltrane himself overdubbed that second soprano part in the recording we all know. Obviously, multi-tracking was only just coming into its own as a self-conscious art form distinct from simply adding tracks to support a recording (the difference from, say, Mingus’ second bass part in the Massey Hall recordings in the ’50s and the Beatles’ Revolver or any Godard film from the exact same period as “Living Space”). I’ve always thought that JC was headed that way. Remember the photo of him playing the “electric” sax? I think he would have embraced the best parts of the pop/rock world only just emerging as he died. Not quite in the manner of Miles, for sure. But something recognizing the value of production as distinct from performance.
Second point is that I would certainly not invoke sexism in Alice’s case. It’s simply that, like Yoko, Alice didn’t *earn* her reputation in the same way, and it is only fair that fans of either John would be skeptical of a person coming in later, arguably after the best music had passed, and claiming a kind of ownership. I’m just saying we need to be careful with sexism (and racism) claims, because, in these cases, we’re just talking about a spouse that happens to be a woman (and, what is less relevant here, not white).
g. camphire
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:44 pm
another interesting post, fellas.
i just happened to pick up a copy of mccoy tyner’s “extensions” (1970) recently, which has the distinction of an all-star lineup, including mrs. coltrane herself on harp.
i find it ironic that people were talking smack about alice back in the day; meanwhile, her esteemed predecessor in the coltrane quartet personally chose her to be an important part of “extensions.”
not that she needed any additional street cred…
alice rules!
Dan
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Genius.
taklook
January 24th, 2008 at 3:51 am
Fantastic …have got most of Alice’s easier to find gems but never heard this before ….wheres the rest guys ….
put it up ……thanx ,
Andy
Have you heard McCoy Tyner’s “Extensions” also with Gary Bartz,Wayne Shorter and Elivin and Alice Coltrane too…worth a listen .
Bart
January 24th, 2008 at 8:46 am
I found this record for $8 a few months back and couldn’t wait to get it on my turntable. I’m ashamed to say that I’m a John Coltrane diehard, but hadn’t even heard of this. I think it’s great–people who call it heresy need to lighten up. I do agree with Vijay’s comment that Coltrane should have been higher in the mix, though.
Vijay – If you’re reading this, I live in the Tampa Bay area and can’t wait to see you at St. Pete College in March!
John in England
January 24th, 2008 at 9:07 am
Thanks for providing my first opportunity to hear these versions of these tracks — I have been collecting all things Coltrane for nearly 40 years now, and I have never once seen a copy of the Infinity LP (new or used) in any record shop.
I think the chances of a CD re-release of Infinity are less than zero for all sorts of reasons (mostly connected with the controversial status of the LP and the way it was produced), so I second Taklook’s proposal that D:O should do the world a huge favour and make the other two tracks available in a future post (preferably sooner rather than later).
It was an Alice Coltrane post that first led me to D:O after her death last year…
Bart
January 24th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Hi John from England: If you want your own copy of the record (or even the Japanese-only CD release that came out in the late 90s), check gemm.com or ebay.com. There are always copies of Infinity for sale out there, although the prices at times are a bit steep.
John in England
January 24th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Hey Bart, what I’d really like is an 8 dollar copy just like yours! Seriously though, I have rarely seen this album on ebay.co.uk, and never at a sensible price.
stephen v funk
January 24th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
genius. Ditto the request for all the tracks, and better yet a proper CD reissue. Maybe DustyGroove’s new label?
PDF
January 25th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
An excellent record. Folks need to just Get. The. Fuck. Over. It. where John Coltrane is concerned. It’s music. Extraordinarily beautiful music, yes, but not the word of the living god or whatever. Alice’s interpretations are/were great.
Extensions is included in the recent McCoy Tyner Mosaic Select 3CD box, which I highly recommend picking up.
pgw
January 25th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
this album is absolute beauty. genius.
Vincent
February 21st, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I’ve loved this record for years. The version of ‘Peace On Earth’ here and the ‘Concert In Japan’ version are two of my ‘I’m in Coltrane Heaven’ tracks. Coltrane fans who don’t like this can listen to the original quartet recordings, which I like just fine as well.
I’ve seen it on ebay a couple of times. It won’t go really cheap, but you should be able to pick it up for £15-£20 I would’ve thought.
gabriel
September 22nd, 2008 at 5:24 am
how do u hear the mp3s??
ledrew
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Try the more recent posts, gabriel. The tunes are only up for a few weeks.
John McConnell
September 30th, 2008 at 7:53 am
I first heard Peace On Earth (from Live In Japan) on a radio program & adored it. Decades later I found “Infinity” on cd, & was bowled over by it. I think it stands by itself as a great piece of work. Then sought it out minus overdubs on Jupiter Variations, & preferred with Alice’s overdubs. But I still think the version on Live In Japan is the most transcendental version, because I think Alice’s piano accompaniment is much more in tune with the beauty of Coltrane’s melody, much more peaceful & uplifting. Do yourself a favour & track down Concert In Japan. Incredible.
Forbidden Light
January 6th, 2009 at 2:37 am
Alice wasn’t just ahead of her time, she truly operated outside of time…She shreds “Living Space” while combining airy New Age, with Fiery Jazz and Earthy Percussion.
In my book I herald Alice to be the better half of the Coltranes…she is one of the few people who’s music has not and can not be replicated. Few have ventured to make true Avant-Global Music…