bryanjazz

Along with her famous husband John, who died in 1967, and the still living legend, Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane helped shape in an essential way my understanding of the relationship between music and spirituality. I know this to be true for many people. We will miss her presence on this plane, but know that her spirit will continue to move us through her music, writings and the rich example that was her life of Spirit. Love and light to her family, and the ashram for which she served as spiritual leader.

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  Alice Coltrane, 69; Performer, Composer of Jazz and New Age Music; Spiritual Leader

Alice Coltrane, the jazz performer and composer who was inextricably linked with the adventurous musical improvisations of her late husband, legendary saxophonist John Coltrane, has died. She was 69. (more)

*(Listening to Alice Coltrane's, "Translinear Light")

It has been a long time since I've been back to California. The 49th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival is what brings me here. I flew into Los Angeles on Wednesday, and drove up to Monterey on Thursday. The drive was great. Living on the East Coast for the past 15 years, it was nice to re-view how beautiful California really is, especially once you emerge from the metropoli of Southern Cal. Before going to the festival on Friday night, my cousins and I spent the day driving around Pebble Beach and the Del Monte Forest and Point Lobos State Reserve on the Monterey Peninsula. "Breathtaking" is, in my view, an inacurate word to desrcibe such beauty. For it is more like breathing anew: each time I am in such a place, I sense each breath as an infusion of Spirit, a reminder not only of beauty in the world, but of the beauty of my own being.
To combine such visual beauty with the aural tapestries of jazz for the weekend, is indeed, enjoying the sweetness in life.

(*listening to Alice Coltrane's "Om Supreme" from Eternity)

Another guest post on Katrina, from my friend Audacity:

“Louisiana Goddam”

(based on the composition “Mississippi Goddamn” by Nina Simone; adaptation and additional lyrics by Audacity Audazmenté™)

Eron had Me so upset
Abu Ghraib made Me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Louisiana, goddam

Iraq has Me so upset
North Korea makes Me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Louisiana, goddam

I know U saw it
I know the experts predicted it
Now a stench is in the air
When the people couldn’t take it any longer
Governor Blanco told us to say a prayer

Florida had Me so upset
Ohio made Me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Louisiana, goddam

Gulfport had Me so upset
Biloxi made Me lose my rest
And everybody knows about New Orleans, goddam

Floodwaters rise when the levees fail
Rescues delayed to put people in jail
Buses sit in a flooded lot
Stranded people suffer: sick, hungry, thirsty, and hot

I thought this “superpower” nation was prepared
I thought the “compassionate” administration cared
But nothing’s happening; it goes on day after day
There is no action to back-up what they say
People in New Orleans starve & drown
While we’re assured aid is coming by Michael Brown

Journalists & celebrities arrive where the people wait
Showing us the bodies of those for whom it’s too late
We see it on TV, we watch the suffering continue
It turns-out the man in charge, he has no clue

Well, that’s just the problem (No clue!)
Waters are rising (No clue!)
Partisans are strategizing (No clue!)
People with no home (No clue!)
Convention center & Superdome (No clue!)
Under & overpasses (No clue!)
Officials sit on their asses (No clue!)
People forgotten (No clue!)
The bodies are rottin’ (No clue!)
Mothers are cryin’ (No clue!)
Babies are dyin’ (No clue!)

Where is the help, where is the relief
I don’t know, I don’t know
The people New Orleans suffer for nearly a week
For the rest of the Gulf Coast, the fate is just as bleak
‘Cuz everybody knows about Hurricane Katrina, goddam

Flooded streets, people on rooftops
For food & water people break into shops
But the media rather show Black men carrying TVs
They ridicule the teenage girl with boxes of Nikes

The disaster is declared poverty’s consequence
The culprit is really government’s incompetence
While wars on drugs & terrorism are fought
While new oil & weapons are sought
People pay their taxes, like U & Me
Everyone’s told they’re equal and told they’re free

This whole country is full of lies
We’re all gonna die, and die like flies
Please don’t trust them, and if they ask U to
Remember that they have no clue

And that’s just the problem (No clue!)
National Guard’s on its way (No clue!)
Red Cross will be there today (No clue!)
“Mandatory” evacuation (No clue!)
No transportation (No clue!)
Inaction by Mayor Nagin (No clue!)
Justice is forsaken (No clue!)
Lives devastated (No clue!)
Families separated (No clue!)
Pets not allowed (No clue!)
Officials scared of a Black crowd (No clue!)
Rumors reported (No clue!)
Truth distorted (No clue!)
Lies spoken (No clue!)
Promises broken (No clue!)
Why don’t they fix it?
Why don’t they save them?
I don’t know, I don’t know

U don’t have to be there when the cavalry’s sent
Just do your damn job as President
Everybody knows about Mayor Nagin
Everybody knows about Governor Blanco
Everybody knows about Director Brown
Everybody knows about Secretary Chertoff
And everybody knows about President Bush, goddam!

“Louisiana Goddam” ©2005 Audacity Audazmenté™
Based on “Mississippi Goddam” written by Nina Simone
Additional lyrics and adaptation by Audacity Audazmenté™

I think this is a pretty accurate, insightful update. Maybe someone can record it. LOL. Here is the original, in case you haven't heard it in a while, or don't know the song at all.

“Mississippi Goddam” – written & performed by Nina Simone
(1964 adlib: The name of this tune is “Mississippi Goddam” …and I mean every word of it)

Alabama’s got Me so upset
Tennessee made Me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi, goddamn

Can’t U see it
Can’t U feel it
It’s all in the air
I can’t stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer

Alabama’s got Me so upset
Tennessee made Me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi, Goddamn

(1964 adlib: This is a showtune, but the show hasn’t been written for it …yet)

Hound dogs on my trail
Schoolchildren sitting in jail
Black cat ‘cross my path
I think every day’s gonna be my last

Lord have mercy on this land of mine
We’re all gonna get it in due time
I don’t belong here, I don’t belong there
I even stopped believing in prayer

Don’t tell Me, I’ll tell U
Me & my people just about due
I’ve been there, so I know
U keep on saying “Go slow”

Well that’s just the trouble (Too slow!)
Washin’ the windows (Too slow!)
Pickin’ the cotton (Too slow!)
Just plain rotten (Too slow!)
Too damn lazy (Too slow!)
Your thinking’s crazy (Too slow!)
Where am I going, what am I doing
I don’t know, I don’t know

Just try to do your very best
Stand up; be counted with all the rest
‘Cuz everybody knows about Mississippi, goddam

(1968 adlib: I ain’t ‘bout to be “non-violent”, honey)

Picket lines, school boycotts
They try to say it’s a Communist plot
But all I want is equality
For my sister, my brother, my people, & Me

Yes, U lied to Me all these years
U told Me to wash & clean my ears
And talk real fine, just like a “lady”
And U’d stop calling Me “Sister Sadie”

This whole country is full of lies
We’re all gonna die, and die like flies
I don’t trust U anymore
U keep on saying “Go slow”
“Go slow”

But that’s just the trouble (Too slow!)
Desegregation (Too slow!)
Mass participation (Too slow!)
Unification (Too slow!)
Do things gradually (Too slow!)
Will bring more tragedy (Too slow!)
Why don’t U see it?
Why don’t U feel it?
I don’t know, I don’t know

U don’t have to live next to Me
Just give Me my equality
Everybody knows about Mississippi
Everybody knows about Alabama
Everybody knows about Mississippi, goddam!
“Mississippi Goddam” ©1964, 1993 Nina Simone

Nina Simone (1933 -2003) recorded “Mississippi Goddam” several times in her career, most notably in 1964 (included on the Philips album Nina Simone In Concert) and in 1968, recorded at a concert performed the day after Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination (included on the RCA compilation subtitled Sugar In My Bowl). The lyrics vary slightly in these different recordings. One notable lyrical addendum is from a 1983 recording of the song (available on the 1997 compilation My Baby Just Cares for Me), when Nina Simone repeats the line “Everybody knows about…”, finishing the line by interchanging a assortment of names, including Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, and Michael Jackson.

On this day (Sept 23) in 1926, John William Coltrane was born in Hamlet, NC. He would become one of the most significant and influential figures in the history of jazz.

Visit the official John Coltrane Website and learn how Alice Coltrane, John's second wife (a stellar recording artist in her own right), and his family is continuing his legacy.

Do a search on John Coltrane at allmusic.com to learn more about Coltrane's music and influence, and view his complete discography.

Here is a news story about the (now gone) Church of St. John Coltrane in San Francisco. I was fortunate enough to have attended a service at this church several years ago. It was quite a moving experience.

Do your own internet search on John Coltrane.

Or better yet, take some time today and listen to his music. If he's not in your collection, take this opportunity to add him. :-)

If you'd like a suggestion, I'd recommend Crescent, one of my favorite Coltrane albums, an awesome work with a somewhat reflective and somber mood. My pick of the tracks on the album: "Lonnie's Lamment".

One of his most popular albums is My Favorite Things, which contains a mellow and warm 14 minute version of the title track, as well as Coltrane's take on the classsic, "Summertime".

There's also, of course, the wonderfully magnificent, A Love Supreme, considered by many not only Coltrane's masterpiece, but also one of the most important records ever made.

It's simply amazing. Not just her deliciously sultry voice, which covers your eardrums like a silk blanket, but the fact that she makes it appear so effortless. The power, depth and intensity with which she delivers her artistry reveals a wisdom one might not readily anticipate from a 25 year old. I believe we are definitely talking about an old soul here.

I had the good fortune of seeing Lizz Wright live in New York City last week, the day after the release of her second album, Dreaming Wide Awake, which beautifully fulfills all the dreams and promise of her debut (full review forthcoming). The concert was wonderful. Supported by a tight band of excellent musicians, Lizz passionately delivered most of the songs from the new album, and a couple from her first, Salt, which I'm sure was appreciated by her longtime fans. I was especially pleased to hear her sing "Blue Rose", one of my favorites from Salt, and one that she wrote (with Kenneth Banks).

Another treasured surprise of the evening was a guest appearance by Toshi Reagon. Toshi (who has writing and performing credits on the new album) added a nice element to the set as she joined Lizz on stage for a couple of songs, including what is becoming one of my favorites on Dreaming..., Neil Young's "Old Man". On this song particularly, in addition to her own beautiful voice, Toshi added a hand clap that fit in nicely with the song's down home, country feel. Lizz actually joked with Toshi about it onstage. I know I will never hear the song again without hearing those claps. Ah...the beauty of live performance!