Alice Coltrane, Pianist, Composer, Mother

The Jazz world lost a ray of sunshine last month, when the life of Alice Coltrane was cut short at the age of 69. She was the loving mother of sons Ravi, Oren,and daughter, Michelle and the late John Coltrane, jr. (1982), Alice was an ever devoted mother, musician and convert to the Hindu faith.

She will be forever remembered for her contributions with the John Coltrane Quartet, her influence on saxophonists Pharoh Sanders and Joe Henderson, introducing the Harp as a viable Jazz instrument, and shaping the outcomes of New Age Music.

She also had a lifelong pursuit of spiritual devotion. She founded the Vedantic Center, a spiritual commune now located in Agoura Hills, California. She also served as the swami of the San Fernando Valley's first Hindu temple, in Chatsworth, Ca.

Many will only remember her for her contribution to the Avante Garde. But Alice was a very well trained pianist and came from a broad musical family and background. In fact her brother, Ernie Farrow, played bass with Yusef Lateef and vibes master, Terry Gibbs.

In Alice’s early years, she played piano for such illumanaries as Lucky Thompson, Kenny Burrell and Lateef. After studying classical piano in Paris for a brief time, Alice moved to New York City where she landed a gig with the Terry Gibbs Quartet.
Critic Don Heckman was quoted as saying,

"As fascinating — and influential — as her later music was, it tended to obscure the fact that she had started out as a solid, bebop-oriented pianist,", telling the LA Times,

"I remember hearing, and jamming with, her in the early '60s at photographer W. Eugene Smith's loft in Manhattan. At that time she played with a brisk, rhythmic style immediately reminiscent of Bud Powell.
(From an article written by By Jon Thurber Times Staff Writer)



She later met John Coltrane in 1963, while playing with Gibbs. As a side-note to this article, I worked with Gibbs in the mid-1980’s at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. I remember him telling the story of introducing Alice and John, he said it was love at first sight. And, that working with Alice was great, for she was a great musician and woman.

Upon working with Trane, Alice had been quoted as saying John opened up her music, so that she could reach musical communication “fully”. It was also in this era, that some of her compositional skills began to surface.

After John’s death, Alice settled to raise her children. She later surfaced in her own quartets with tenor-men Pharoh Sanders and Joe Henderson. These were ideal musicians to work with, for they also cared about the mission of her late husband’s music.

In 2001 she helped found the John Coltrane Foundation to encourage jazz performances and award scholarships to young musicians.