''Infinity'' is an album credited to

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

, released on

Impulse! Records Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positi ...

in 1972. It features overdubs with strings of Coltrane's pieces recorded in 1965 and 1966, at the hands of

Alice Coltrane Alice Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known by her adopted Sanskrit name Turiyasangitananda, was an American jazz musician and composer, and in her later years a swamini. An accomplished pianist and one of the few har ...

. Her controversial "re-imagining" of her husband's late works was criticised by both fans and critics, as she took his original performances and superimposed them over lush orchestral backgrounds and re-dubbed rhythm section parts, as well as recording new solos on piano, organ, harp and timpani. Tracks 2 and 3 were originally recorded by the "classic quartet" (

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA ...

Jimmy Garrison James Emory Garrison (March 3, 1934 – April 7, 1976) was an American jazz double bassist. He is best remembered for his association with John Coltrane from 1961 to 1967. Career Garrison was raised in both Miami and Philadelphia where he l ...

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...

) in 1965, while tracks 1 and 4 were recorded by Coltrane's later ensemble (

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) 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", San ...

, Garrison,

Rashied Ali Rashied Ali, born Robert Patterson (July 1, 1933 – August 12, 2009) was an American free jazz and avant-garde drummer best known for playing with John Coltrane in the last years of Coltrane's life. Biography Early life Patterson was born and ...

, and extra percussionist

Ray Appleton Otis Ray Appleton (August 23, 1941 – October 7, 2015) was an American jazz drummer. Early life Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, his interest in drums began when visiting the local fire department to hear their "Drum and Bugle Corps" practice. H ...

). On the 1965 tracks, Alice retained the original rhythm section parts, adding string and tamboura parts only, but on the 1966 tracks, Garrison's bass parts were replaced with new recordings by

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

, and she herself recorded new solos. Regarding the criticism she received concerning the overdubs and alterations, Alice Coltrane reflected: "Some people didn't like the addition of strings... They said, 'We know that the original recording didn’t have any strings, so why didn't you leave it as it was?' I replied, 'Were you there? Did you hear ohn'scommentary and what he had to say?'... We had a conversation about every detail;

ohn Ohn is a Burmese name, used by people from Myanmar. Notable people with the name include: * Daw Ohn (1913–2003), Burmese professor in Pali * Ohn Gyaw (born 1932), Burmese Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1991 to 1998 * Ohn Kyaing (born 1944), Bur ...

was showing me how the piece could include other sounds, blends, tonalities and resonances such as strings. He talked about cosmic sounds, higher dimensions, astral levels and other worlds, and realms of music and sound that I could feel."

Reception

Reviewer Stewart Smith wrote "By pairing her own music with her husband's, Alice announced her intention to continue on the visionary path they had mapped out together...The results are fascinating and rather gorgeous, offering a glimpse where John might have gone next had he lived."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer Brian Olewnick wrote: "the ultimate result is an unusual and oddly attractive work. The juxtaposition of the fiery, very free playing of late Coltrane against the dreamy, consonant strings is seductively appealing and one might even make the argument that, given the increasing mystical proclivities of his later years and the presence of Eastern instruments in his ensemble, he may well have approved... Whatever problems the Coltrane ideologue may have with his wife's embroideries, ''Infinity'' still deserves a place in his/her collection."

Track listing

:''All compositions by John Coltrane'' # "Peace on Earth" – 8:33 # "Living Space" – 10:28 # "Joy" – 7:54 # "Leo" – 9:52 :''Overdubs recorded at

The Village Recorder The Village (also known as Village Recorders, or the Village Recorder) is a recording studio located at 1616 Butler Avenue in West Los Angeles, California. History The building was built by the Freemasons in 1922 and was originally a Masonic t ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, in 1972.''

Musicians

Original performances by

(soprano & tenor sax, bass clarinet, bells, percussion – 4) *

(tenor sax, flute, piccolo, tambourine, percussion – 4) *

(piano – 2,3) *

(piano – 1,4, organ – 1,4) *

(bass – 2,3) *

(drums – 2,3) *

(drums – 1,4) *

(percussion – 1,4)

Overdubbed with arrangements featuring

(piano – 1,4, harp – 1,2,3, organ – 1,4, vibraphone – 1,3, tamboura – 2, timpani-4) *

(bass – 1,3,4) *Joan Chapman (tamboura – 2) *Oran Coltrane (bells - 2)

String orchestra

*James Getzoff, Gerald Vinci, Gordon Marron, Michael White (violin) *Rollice Dale, Myra Kestenbaum, (viola) *Jesse Ehrlich, Edgar Lustgarten (cello) *Murray Adler (concertmaster)

References

{{Authority control Alice Coltrane albums 1972 remix albums John Coltrane remix albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio Impulse! Records remix albums Remix albums published posthumously