John and Alice Coltrane

Kate Molleson and Kevin Le Gendre dive into the lives and music of John & Alice Coltrane

Coltrane is a name you’re likely to have heard, even if you know little to nothing about jazz. More than half a century after his death, saxophonist and composer John Coltrane is hailed as a giant of American cultural history, and one of 20th-century music’s greatest visionaries. But he’s not the only Coltrane. His wife, Alice, was an accomplished keyboardist and harpist who made revolutionary music in her own right, and whose contribution to John’s late output has not always been fully recognised. As soulmates and fellow seekers in sound, John and Alice both transcended cultural and genre boundaries, helping to pioneer avant-garde and spiritual jazz. But following John’s premature death in 1967, Alice began her solo career and would take forward their journey of creative and religious expansion. This week, Kate Molleson is joined by journalist and broadcaster Kevin Le Gendre to dive into the lives and music of these monumental figures, and explore their contributions to the jazz world and beyond.

Music featured:

Straight Street (from Coltrane) Blue Train (from Blue Train) Miles Davis/John Coltrane: So What (from Kind of Blue) Giant Steps (from Giant Steps) Syeeda’s Song Flute (from Giant Steps) Naima (from Giant Steps) Rodgers/Hart: It’s Easy to Remember (from Ballads) Up ‘Gainst the Wall (from Impressions) Rodgers/Hammerstein: My Favorite Things (from My Favorite Things) Blues Minor (from Africa/Brass) India (from Impressions) Alabama (from Live at Birdland 1963) Bessie’s Blues (from Crescent) Terry Gibbs: Sherry Bossa Nova (from Plays Terry Gibbs feat. Alice McLeod) Ogunde (from Expression) A Love Supreme, Pts 1 and 2 (from A Love Supreme) Expression (from Expression) Dear Lord (from Transition) Stopover Bombay (from Journey in Satchidananda) The Sun (from Cosmic Music) Lovely Sky Boat (from A Monastic Trio) Ohnedaruth (from A Monastic Trio) Blue Nile (from Ptah the el Daoud) A Love Supreme (from World Galaxy) Journey in Satchidananda (from Journey in Satchidananda) Spiritual Eternal (from Eternity) Sivaya (from Transcendence) Going Home (from Lord of Lords) Krishna Krishna (from Turiya Sings) Translinear Light (from Translinear Light) Rama rama (from The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda) Govinda Jai Jai (from Radha-Krsna Nama Sankirtana)

Presented by Kate Molleson Produced by Amelia Parker & Martin Williams for BBC Audio Wales

For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for John and Alice Coltrane https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001s5st

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z