''Transcendence'' is an album by

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 ...

, recorded in California in May 1977, and released later that year by Sepia Tone Records. On the album, Coltrane is heard in a variety of instrumental combinations. "Vrindavana" is a solo track, while on "Radhe-Shyam" and "Transcendence", Coltrane appears on harp accompanied by a string ensemble. The remaining tracks are among the earliest examples of her use of Hindu devotional hymns called

bhajans Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

, and feature Coltrane on keyboards joined by large groups of singers who also clap and play hand instruments.

Critical reception

In a review for

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 ...

, Thom Jurek wrote: "the vision on display here is not so much a grand musical one as it is an intensely focused spiritual one... it makes for a challenging but thoroughly engaging listen, wherein moods, modes, ambiences, and densities are offered as meditative spaces for the listener... ''Transcendence'' is another chapter in a body of work by Ms. Coltrane that was not generally understood until the 21st century, where it received the acclaim it so richly deserved. As time passes, it may actually be instructive to a new generation of musicians and listeners -- a love supreme indeed." The authors of ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' called the album "deeply personal and profoundly felt, but hard to contextualize" within a jazz framework. Joseph Neff of The Vinyl District stated that the "sustained dose of florid harp and strings" of the first few tracks is counterbalanced by the remaining vocal-oriented tracks, which have "gospel edge that cuts a little deeper than it did on her two prior outings." Writing for Spectrum Culture, Daniel Bromfield commented: "We can easily see how her eye for architectural detail passed down to her nephew Flying Lotus. She plays the harp for much of the album... and it vaults through the air between its bearings like the arches in some decadent Gothic church." In an article for

Red Bull Music Academy The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festiv ...

, Britt Robson called "Vrindavana" "mesmerizing," but noted that "the song-chants with her students on the back end of the album are the real reward, for they crystallize the devotional passions of gospel testimony and Hindu bliss in a riveting synergy."

Tracklist

Personnel

– electric piano, harp, organ, piano, tamboura, tambourine, wind chimes * David Montagu – violin * Jay Rosen – violin * Murray Adler – violin * Pamela Goldsmith – viola * Fred Seykoura – cello

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transcendence (Alice Coltrane Album) 1977 albums Alice Coltrane albums