A MONASTIC TRIO

This 1998 reissue contains two bonus tracks. Personnel: Alice Coltrane (harp, piano); John Coltrane (spoken vocals); Pharoah Sanders (tenor saxophone, flute, bass clarinet); Jimmy Garrison (bass); Ben Riley, Rashied Ali (drums). Producer: Alice Coltrane Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna. Recorded at the Coltrane Studio, Dix Hills, New York on January 29 & June 6, 1968 and the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on March 7, 1968. Includes an interview with Alice Coltrane conducted by Pauline Rivelli and liner notes by Leroi Jones. Digitally remastered using 20-bit technology by Erick Labson (MCA Studios). This is part of Impulse's The New Thing Series. Alice Coltrane's 1968 solo debut on Impulse still stands tall in the artist's excellent discography. Coltrane had already gained a considerable education playing in the band of her late husband John during one of his boldest and most exploratory periods. The searching quality underpinning the saxophonist's last albums is also present on A Monastic Trio, as are the Eastern modalities and the balance between density and expansiveness often associated with Trane. But to consider Coltrane's debut a mere offshoot of her late husband's inventions is to do her a great disservice. Coltrane distinguishes herself as a composer (all the tunes on the album are hers), and as an instrumentalist (her harp playing, in particular, is noteworthy). A Monastic Trio also benefits from a superb personnel list, including Rashied Ali on drums, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and the irrepressible Pharoah Sanders on saxophone, flute, and bass clarinet. This recording remains one of the landmark debuts in avant-garde jazz. ~ Rovi Staff