Previously unreleased Alice Coltrane recording of historic 1971 Carnegie Hall performance set for release on Impulse!

The Impulse! Records imprint has announced the release, on 22 March, of Alice Coltrane - The Carnegie Hall Concert, a recording that comes from a special gala benefiting the Integral Yoga Institute, and sees Coltrane backed by an all-star group of musicians, will be released in full for the very first time.

Held four years after her husband John Coltrane’s untimely passing and recorded by Impulse! for eventual release, the concert marks a pivotal moment in both Coltrane’s career and her spiritual journey: she had just released her fourth solo album, Journey in Satchidananda, and had deepened her spiritual quest over a five-week trip to India.

Her band that night added two members of Satchidananda's circle — Kumar Kramer and Tulsi Reynolds, playing harmonium and tamboura, respectively — to a large jazz ensemble comprising two saxophonists, Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp, two bassists, Jimmy Garrison and Cecil McBee, and two drummers, Ed Blackwell and Clifford Jarvis.  

The set included two transcendental tunes from Journey in Satchidananda, followed by two compositions by John Coltrane and served as a sign of things to come, a chronicle of an artist during a musical and spiritual emergence.

This year Impulse! and Verve Label Group have partnered with The John & Alice Coltrane Home to launch the ‘Year of Alice’, a year-long celebration of Alice Coltrane’s profound work.

At the centre of the celebration are Coltrane’s ground-breaking recordings for Impulse!, and the label will be working in tandem with The John & Alice Coltrane Home for varied activations throughout the year. To kick off the year-long celebration there will be special night of performers and speakers that include Ravi Coltrane, Michelle Coltrane, Brandee Younger and more at the legendary Birdland on 22 February.

See the visualiser for the first single below and for more info visit alicecoltrane.lnk.to/LiveAtCarnegieHallID