alice coltrane's lost album

Alice Coltrane's music is indeed a thing of great beauty.
In the late 60's and early 70's she released her first albums in a series of seminal albums that fused the freely improvising modal playing of some of the greatest improvisers and composers of jazz there's ever been. She worked with Pharaoh Sanders, McCoy Tyner, Roy Haynes and of course had a huge influence on the music of her husband John Coltrane. (We did a post on her 1969 album Huntingdon Ashram Monastery). Along with 'Journey in Satchidananda' these recordings set a standard in transcendental music that has never been improved on. She was to continue to record her devotional music throughout her life. Alice died in 2007.
This recording is of a little known and rare 1987 release 'Divine Songs'.
The uploader 'Sir Eddie'. despite his less than transcendental handle, should be thanked for keeping this recording alive -

"Here is an amazing cassette rip of Divine Songs. This tape is very rare and mostly consists of Alice's rich, soulful intonations and eastern-style gospel vocals over drones, choruses, and synths in a manner so achingly tasteful and spiritual and masterful and deep.."

Further, an entry in Wikipedia describes it -

Divine Songs is an album by Swamini Turiyasangitananda, formerly known as Alice Coltrane. It is an album composed of devotional songs from the Hindu religion. The songs are accompanied by Turiya's signature playing on the Wurlitzer organ. She plays the songs on the organ, beginning with the traditional Indian mode but then improvises and stretches it until it turns back on itself musically. Her use of breaks, syncopation and harmonic invention re-image the songs into something original and nearly unclassifiable.

This is the entire 58 minutes of Divine Songs' completely immersive music and contains some of her finest themes. The string arrangements alone are breathtaking, the song tunes are without comparison.
One commenter hearing this for the first time summed the experience up -
"Whoa. I'm speechless. I stumbled upon this video not knowing much about Alice Coltrane and my day has been shaken."
Yes, Alice Coltrane's music can actually do that. It is of the spheres.

ronald shannon jackson RIP

It's not often we post on a jazz musician but this weekend (October 19th) saw the passing of one of the worlds great drummers, Ronald Shannon Jackson. Regardless of the music genre he inhabited and whether you may be familiar or not with his name it's important that the mans life does not go unnoticed here.
From his early days Shannon Jackson had been been in the drum chair alongside some of the most uncompromising and creative musicians of their time, Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman.
Then from the mid-80's with his own group The Decoding Society, Shannon Jackson kicked down the boundaries between jazz and rock and in collaboration with musicians like James “Blood” Ulmer, Vernon Reid and Bill Frisell created a hybrid sound completely unique.
Yesterday Vernon Reid posted on his Facebook page -

"I just got the news that my most important teacher & mentor Ronald Shannon Jackson passed away this morning. I am undone."

His presence on stage had a tangible warmth and spirituality, his visual appearance was striking and instantly recognisable, he powered an extraordinary drum kit as if part tribal and part martial art. The man was life. He was driven of spirit.

Here's a performance of him with The Decoding Society from October 1991at the Skopje Jazz Festival, Poland, and that he posted on YouTube himself 2 years ago. The piece is titled, aptly for today - "Sunday's Bells". A particularity good clip as it films him introducing the group and then beginning the set by playing a flute, he was known to play several instruments outside of the drums, before taking his position behind the kit to end with one of his amazing drum solos. And what a kit it is. Decorated in tribal or abstracted motifs it represents the ethnic nature of the composition perfectly.
(mono audio: left channel only)

a rare sighting of shakti

Here is something of extraordinary beauty. And like all wondrous things it is very rare. A clip of Shakti and it's creator John McLaughlin with L.Shankar (violin, perc) from a documentary made in the late 70's (78 or 79) Southbank Show performing a piece from the 'Natural Elements' album, the last of three releases by Shakti.
McLaughlin is playing the customised steel-string acoustic guitar made by Abe Wechter. a conventional six-string (Gibson J-200) with seven strings strung underneath at a forty-five degree angle. An awesome sight let alone sound. The instrument's scalloped fretboard enabled McLaughlin to bend strings far beyond the reach of a conventional fretboard as you'll see.
This Abe Wechter guitar is believed to be no more as it was.. (shudder).. broken in later years.

Laugh of the week goes to C. Bateman who commented -
"Where are the (guitar) tabs 4 this I can't find it in the local store.. they say they don't have space"

santana treat

"The '60s were a leap in human consciousness. Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Che Guevara, Mother Teresa, they led a revolution of conscience. The Beatles, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix created revolution and evolution themes. The music was like Dalí, with many colors and revolutionary ways. The youth of today must go there to find themselves."
Carlos Santana

Of all Santana's bands the original group seen in 1969 at Woodstock was possibly the most thrilling. It was a new, fresh, exciting sound and brought a rock audience the first light of world music with it's driving Brazilian and South American crossover rhythms and instrumental rock, blues and jazz influences.
This lesser known track from a live performance in 1970 demonstrates that sound perfectly. It has never been bettered by any other group since. A landmark in music.
The title of the song that comes up at the end is incorrect. It was originally called "The Way You Do To Me" and then later "Treat". Written by the drummer and percussionist, Michael Shrieve from the 'Santana' album.

miles davis

The 20th anniversary of Miles Davis' death. September 28th 1991.
The man was the very embodiment of 'cool' and one of the most influential musicians and composers of the 20th century. His music was to have an impact on jazz, fusion, rock, funk and soul.
His playing from the 1950's smokey blues of 'Kinda Blue' (voted jazz' greatest record) to a boxers jab like riffs of the electric bands were unmistakeable. No one else could have dreamt of electrifying a trumpet with a wah wah pedal!
Like Bob Dylan turning electric in the 1960's left a purist folk audience infuriated, Miles' 1969 release of Bitches Brew drew equal disclaim from his previous jazz classicist audience. The resulting bands that grew out of the Miles Davis groups sidemen were to be many and frequent. His planned recording with Jimi Hendrix can only be imagined due to Jimi's death in 1970.
Since Miles' parting, jazz and jazz fusion has stood in a corner without this extraordinary man leading the way.
Here is mid movement of one of Miles Davis' epic compositions Calypso Frelimo ,  recorded Sep 73, released on 'Get Up With It'