Cosmic Music

'If you have yet to explore her cosmic music, begin, as Andy Beta did, with Journey in Satchidananda , then open this detailed and illuminating biography. And prepare to be transported' OBSERVER 'This book is one to cancel all your plans and really sink into . . . rich and textured' SHORTLIST Musician, wife, mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, collaborator, guru, iconoclast: Alice Coltrane is one of the most forward-looking yet misunderstood artists of the last fifty years. For most of her life - and even in the decades since her passing - she was seen merely as the widow of the late John Coltrane, one of jazz's 'great men' who has long been worshipped with an almost religious fervour and devotion. Yet ever so slowly, that level of love and appreciation is also being bestowed upon Alice. Her influence can be felt on new generations of musicians, especially women, people of colour and artists who seek to combine jazz with other musical forms. In Coltrane's music, we can observe the transformation of Black American music in microcosm: the gospel roots giving rise to jazz and bebop, then intermingling with soul and R&B, then onto rock, modern classical, psychedelia and new age. Cosmic Music is both the first full-length biography of Alice and a long-overdue corrective to the historical and critical record. Based on extensive research and scores of new interviews by acclaimed music journalist Andy Beta, it is the definitive account of a visionary whose influence is only just beginning to be appreciated in full. 'A spiritually moving, epic love story for the ages' JAZZ TIMES 'Andy Beta has a lyrical sense of the ideological mountains the couple were trying to scale with their work' NEW STATESEMAN

'If you have yet to explore her cosmic music, begin, as Andy Beta did, with Journey in Satchidananda , then open this detailed and illuminating biography. And prepare to be transported' OBSERVER 'This book is one to cancel all your plans and really sink into . . . rich and textured' SHORTLIST Musician, wife, mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, collaborator, guru, iconoclast: Alice Coltrane is one of the most forward-looking yet misunderstood artists of the last fifty years. For most of her life - and even in the decades since her passing - she was seen merely as the widow of the late John Coltrane, one of jazz's 'great men' who has long been worshipped with an almost religious fervour and devotion. Yet ever so slowly, that level of love and appreciation is also being bestowed upon Alice. Her influence can be felt on new generations of musicians, especially women, people of colour and artists who seek to combine jazz with other musical forms. In Coltrane's music, we can observe the transformation of Black American music in microcosm: the gospel roots giving rise to jazz and bebop, then intermingling with soul and R&B, then onto rock, modern classical, psychedelia and new age. Cosmic Music is both the first full-length biography of Alice and a long-overdue corrective to the historical and critical record. Based on extensive research and scores of new interviews by acclaimed music journalist Andy Beta, it is the definitive account of a visionary whose influence is only just beginning to be appreciated in full. 'A spiritually moving, epic love story for the ages' JAZZ TIMES 'Andy Beta has a lyrical sense of the ideological mountains the couple were trying to scale with their work' NEW STATESEMAN

The first full-length biography of Alice Coltrane, the jazz musician and spiritual leader whose forward-thinking music was overshadowed by her more famous husband, even as she brilliantly laid the groundwork for the new age, ambient, and electronic music that would follow . Alice Coltrane (1937-2007) was one of the most misunderstood artists of the last sixty years. For most of her life--and even in the decades since her passing--she was primarily known as the widow of the late John Coltrane. John Coltrane is widely seen as being one of the greatest tenor saxophonists and composers of the 20th century, with a fervor and devotion approaching sainthood. Yet ever so slowly, that level of love and appreciation is also being bestowed upon pianist, organist, harpist, and composer Alice Coltrane. Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane is the first full biography of this remarkable, groundbreaking artist, and is an elegant, deeply researched corrective to the historical--and critical--record. It elevates Alice Coltrane to her proper place, both alongside her husband as one of the greatest musical visionaries of the 20th century, and also as a singular artist in Western music, one who became a spiritual leader in her lifetime. In the years since her passing, she has become a great influence on a new generation of musicians, especially women, people of color, and artists who seek to combine jazz with other musical forms, be it modern classical, electronic, Indian music, and more. Cosmic Music also unearths previously unknown connections between Alice Coltrane and other generational icons, from Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana, and Nina Simone to Mother Teresa and Doja Cat. In Alice Coltrane's music, one can perceive the transformation of Black American music in microcosm, the gospel roots giving rise to jazz and bebop, then intermingling with soul and R&B, and then onto rock, modern classical, psychedelia, and new age. Cosmic Music , based on extensive research and scores of new interviews by music journalist Andy Beta, is the definitive account of a visionary whose influence is only just beginning to be appreciated in full.

The first full-length biography of Alice Coltrane, the jazz musician and spiritual leader whose forward-thinking music was overshadowed by her more famous husband, even as she brilliantly laid the groundwork for the new age, ambient, and electronic music that would follow . Alice Coltrane (1937-2007) was one of the most misunderstood artists of the last sixty years. For most of her life--and even in the decades since her passing--she was primarily known as the widow of the late John Coltrane. John Coltrane is widely seen as being one of the greatest tenor saxophonists and composers of the 20th century, with a fervor and devotion approaching sainthood. Yet ever so slowly, that level of love and appreciation is also being bestowed upon pianist, organist, harpist, and composer Alice Coltrane. Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane is the first full biography of this remarkable, groundbreaking artist, and is an elegant, deeply researched corrective to the historical--and critical--record. It elevates Alice Coltrane to her proper place, both alongside her husband as one of the greatest musical visionaries of the 20th century, and also as a singular artist in Western music, one who became a spiritual leader in her lifetime. In the years since her passing, she has become a great influence on a new generation of musicians, especially women, people of color, and artists who seek to combine jazz with other musical forms, be it modern classical, electronic, Indian music, and more. Cosmic Music also unearths previously unknown connections between Alice Coltrane and other generational icons, from Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana, and Nina Simone to Mother Teresa and Doja Cat. In Alice Coltrane's music, one can perceive the transformation of Black American music in microcosm, the gospel roots giving rise to jazz and bebop, then intermingling with soul and R&B, and then onto rock, modern classical, psychedelia, and new age. Cosmic Music , based on extensive research and scores of new interviews by music journalist Andy Beta, is the definitive account of a visionary whose influence is only just beginning to be appreciated in full.