Jon Pareles of The New York Times stated that the concert "gathered force like a typhoon," noting the contrast between the "serene opening" and the "squall of free jazz" with which it concludes.[21]
DownBeat's John Ephland called the album "a marvelous transition for Coltrane," and stated: "Bandmates sound very much in sync... In 1971, this music may have been of its time, but today, more than half a century later, it sounds like a clarion call for something worth listening to and playing as the New New Thing."[16]
In a review for The New Yorker, Richard Brody described Coltrane's solo on "Leo" as "the most thrilling single concentration of her art that I've ever heard," and wrote: "after intense duos by Sanders and Shepp on tenor sax, she enters with ringing, fervent chords that yield to gospel-like tremolos, from which emerges an obsessive bass-note chiming that sounds like church bells from space."[22]
Writing for the Financial Times, Mike Hobart noted that the "solos are long and the arrangements ad-lib," but acknowledged the fact that "the commitment of the playing and Coltrane's guiding hand on piano and harp ensure the music's emotional force."[17]
Pitchfork's Hank Shteamer suggested that, on the album, Coltrane is "here in full: the matriarch we now know well and duly appreciate; the Godfather we may not have ever properly reckoned with. The devotee of Satchidananda; the torchbearer for John. And the bandleader and instrumental powerhouse who marshaled formidable talents like Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp, and found space for them within her rapidly expanding musical vision."[20]
Edwin Pouncey of Jazzwise called the album "noble," and commented: "Live at Carnegie Hall expertly succeeds in bringing this important episode in Alice Coltrane’s musical ascension vividly back to life – to the point where you might possibly believe you were there on that magical evening."[18]
In an article for Mojo, Andrew Male remarked: "What began as a benefit for Swami Satchidananda and evolved into a summoning of John Coltrane's spirit now stands as a tribute to the liberating force of Alice Coltrane herself. It's a communion. Drink deep."[19]
Commenting for The Quietus, Antonio Poscic described the album as "inspirited" and "crucial", and wrote: "It's mesmerising to hear these particular takes for the first time as they show just how deeply invested, how certain, Coltrane and her collaborators were in the music and the devotional flow fuelling it... the group's performance... is confident and inspired."[23]
The Nation's Marcus J. Moore stated: "At Carnegie Hall, Alice proved she had a sound all her own... On these tracks, Alice proved she wasn't just a practitioner of transcendental harmonies; she had the same verve as other free jazz luminaries."[24]
Thom Jurek of AllMusic commented: "the concert's pace, textures, explosive drama, virtuosity, and limitless creativity are unmatched... This is an essential entry in Coltrane's catalog."[1]
In a review for UK Jazz News, Phil Johnson remarked: "The Carnegie Hall Concert is both an historically important document and an eminently listenable recording full of insistent grooves, remarkably powerful playing and intense compositional depth... essential for anyone wishing to understand where jazz was then and where it has got to now."[25]
Writing for All About Jazz, Marc Myers called the album "a landmark performance that was both commanding and reflective of a fast-moving era that upended norms" and wrote: "Few jazz recordings have captivated me the way this one has, with its extraordinary emotion, Black power, pan-Africanism and artistic endurance by all of the performers."[26]
Track listing
"Journey in Satchidananda" (Alice Coltrane) – 15:02
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Archie Shepp is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz.
Pharoah Sanders was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", Sanders played a prominent role in the development of free jazz and spiritual jazz through his work as a member of John Coltrane's groups in the mid-1960s, and later through his solo work. He released more than thirty albums as a leader and collaborated extensively with vocalist Leon Thomas and pianist Alice Coltrane, among many others. Fellow saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world".
Rashied Ali, born Robert Patterson was an American free jazz and avant-garde drummer who was best known for performing with John Coltrane in the last years of Coltrane's life.
James Emory Garrison was an American jazz double bassist. He is best remembered for his association with John Coltrane from 1961 to 1967.
Clifford Osbourne Jarvis was an American hard bop and free jazz drummer, who in the 1980s moved to London, England, where he spent the remainder of his career.
Cecil McBee is an American jazz bassist. He has recorded as a leader only a handful of times since the 1970s, but has contributed as a sideman to a number of classic jazz albums.
Alice Lucille Coltrane, also known as Swamini Turiyasangitananda or simply Turiya, was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader and Hindu spiritual leader.
Reginald "Reggie" Workman is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey.
Marion Brown was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongside musicians such as John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and John Tchicai. He performed on Coltrane's landmark 1965 album Ascension. AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow described him as "one of the brightest and most lyrical voices of the 1960s avant-garde."
Journey in Satchidananda is the fourth studio album by American jazz pianist and harpist Alice Coltrane, released in February 1971 on Impulse! Records. The first four tracks were recorded at Coltrane's home studio in Dix Hills, New York, in November 1970, while "Isis and Osiris" was recorded live at the Village Gate in Greenwich Village in July of that year. Coltrane is joined on the album by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, bassists Cecil McBee and Charlie Haden, and drummer Rashied Ali. Vishnu Wood also appears on oud on "Isis and Osiris", while the studio recordings also feature Majid Shabazz on percussion and Tulsi on tanpura.
Live At The Village Vanguard Again! is a live jazz album by saxophonist John Coltrane. Recorded in May 1966 during a live performance at the Village Vanguard jazz club in New York City, the album features Coltrane playing in the free jazz style that characterized his final years. The lineup features Coltrane's quintet, with Coltrane on tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, and flute, Pharoah Sanders on tenor saxophone and flute, Alice Coltrane on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Rashied Ali on drums, supplemented by Emanuel Rahim on percussion. It was the quintet's only official recording released during Coltrane's lifetime.
Ascension is a jazz album by John Coltrane recorded in June 1965 and released in 1966. It is considered a watershed in Coltrane's work, with the albums recorded before it being more conventional in structure and the albums recorded after it being looser, free jazz inspired works. In addition, it signaled Coltrane's interest in moving away from the quartet format. AllMusic called it "the single recording that placed John Coltrane firmly into the avant-garde".
Karma is a jazz recording by the American tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, released in May 1969 on the Impulse! label, with catalog number AS 9181. A pioneering work of the spiritual jazz style, it has become Sanders' most popular and critically acclaimed album.
"Ogunde" is the opening track on jazz saxophonist John Coltrane's 1967 album Expression, and one of two songs on The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording.
Archie Shepp discography.
Elevation is a live album by American saxophonist and composer Pharoah Sanders, released in 1973 on the Impulse! label.
Spiritual jazz is a sub-genre of jazz that originated in the United States during the 1960s. The genre is hard to characterize musically but draws from free, avant-garde and modal jazz and thematically focuses on transcendence and spirituality. John Coltrane's 1965 album A Love Supreme is considered landmark in the genre.
Carnegie Hall '71 is a live album by Alice Coltrane. It was recorded at Carnegie Hall in New York City on February 21, 1971, and was released in 2018 by the Hi Hat label. On the album, Coltrane appears on piano and harp, and is joined by saxophonists Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp, bassists Jimmy Garrison and Cecil McBee, and drummers Ed Blackwell and Clifford Jarvis.
William Clifford "Vishnu" Wood, also known as Vishnu Bill Wood, is an American double bass player and educator. Born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, he moved to Detroit when he was ten, where he started playing trumpet and later taking up double bass. After studying at the Detroit Institute of Musical Arts he worked with Dorothy Ashby in 1957 and then with Yusef Lateef and Joe Henderson.
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