Alice Coltrane: Universal Consciousness-1971 impulse 1st Edition Gatefold LP

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1971 ABC/impulse! 1st Edition Gatefold Stereo Release of Bandleader/Composer/Pianist/Organist/Harpist Alice Coltrane Entitled Universal Consciousness, Produced by Alice Coltrane and Ed Michel, Engineering by W.L. Barneke & Roy Musgnug in Dix Hills, New York, A & R Recording by Tony May in New York City, Mixing Engineering by Ed Michel and Tony May, String Arrangements by Alice Coltrane, Transcriptions by Ornette Coleman, Album Recorded April 6, May 14 & June 19 of 1971 - "Recorded between April and June of 1971, Alice Coltrane's Universal Consciousness stands as her classic work. As a testament to the articulation of her spiritual principles, Universal Consciousnessstands even above World Galaxy as a recording where the medium of music, both composed and improvised, perfectly united the realms of body (in performance), speech (in the utterance of individual instrumentalists and group interplay), and mind (absolute focus) for the listener to take into their own experience. While many regard Universal Consciousness as a "jazz" album, it transcends even free jazz by its reliance on deeply thematic harmonic material and the closely controlled sonic dynamics in its richly hued chromatic palette. The set opens with the title track, where strings engage large washes of Coltrane's harp as Jack DeJohnette's drums careen in a spirit dance around the outer edge of the maelstrom. On first listen, the string section and the harp are in counter-dictum, moving against each other in a modal cascade of sounds, but this soon proves erroneous as Coltrane's harp actually embellishes the timbral glissandos pouring forth. Likewise, Jimmy Garrison's bass seeks to ground the proceedings to DeJohnette's singing rhythms, and finally Coltrane moves the entire engagement to another dimension with her organ. Leroy Jenkins' violin, and Garrison's bottom two strings entwine one another in Ornette Coleman's transcription, as Coltrane and the other strings offer a middling bridge for exploration. It's breathtaking. On "Battle at Armageddon," the violence depicted is internal; contrapuntal rhythmic impulses whirl around each other as Coltrane's organ and harp go head to head with Rashied Ali's drums. "Oh Allah" rounds out side one with a gorgeously droning, awe-inspiring modal approach to whole-tone music that enfolds itself into the lines of organic polyphony as the strings color each intervalically. DeJohnette's brushwork lisps around the edges, and Garrison's bass underscores each chord and key change in Coltrane's constant flow of thought. On side two, "Hare Krishna" is a chant-like piece that is birthed from minor-key ascendancy with a loping string figure transcribed by Coleman from Coltrane's composition on the organ. She lies deep in the cut, offering large shimmering chords that twirl -- eventually -- around high-register ostinatos and pedal work. It's easily the most beautiful and accessible track in the set, in that it sings with a devotion that has at its base the full complement of Coltrane's compositional palette. "Sita Ram" is a piece that echoes "Hare Krishna" in that it employs Garrison and drummer Clifford Jarvis, but replaces the strings with a tambura player. Everything here moves very slowly, harp and organ drift into and out of one another like breath, and the rhythm section -- informed by the tambura's drone -- lilts on Coltrane's every line. As the single-fingered lines engage the rhythm section more fully toward the end of the tune, it feels like a soloist improvising over a chanting choir. Finally, the album ends with another duet between Ali and Coltrane. Ali uses wind chimes as well as his trap kit, and what transpires between the two is an organically erected modal architecture, where texture and timbre offer the faces of varying intervals: Dynamic, improvisational logic and tonal exploration become elemental figures in an intimate yet universal conversation that has the search itself, and the uncertain nature of our arrival, either musically or spiritually, at its very root. This ambiguity is the only way a recording like this could possibly end, with spiritual questioning and yearning in such a musically sophisticated and unpretentious way. The answers to those questions can perhaps be found in the heart of the music itself. More than likely, though, the music will make its way into the recesses of the human heart, where the question will be fully answered. This is art of the highest order, conceived by a brilliant mind, poetically presented in exquisite collaboration by divinely inspired musicians and humbly offered as a gift to listeners. It is a true masterpiece."  - Magnificent Personnel for the Various Lineups Feature Legendary Composer Alice Coltrane on Organ, Harp and Piano, John Blair, Leroy Jenkins, Julius Brand & Joan Kalisch on Violins, Tulsi on Tamboura, the Talented Jimmy Garrison on Bass, the Brilliant Jack DeJohnette on Drums, Clifford Jarvis on Drums, Bells and Percussion & the Amazing Rashied Ali on Drums and Wind Chimes! - Selections on Side One Are Original Alice Coltrane Compositions Universal Consciousness, Battle at Armageddon, Oh Allah - Tracks for Side Two Are Traditional Indian Hymns Hare Krishna, Sita Ram Arranged & Adapted by Coltrane and the Alice Coltrane Penned the Ankh of Amen-Ra - Used Copy, Cover Is Slightly Faded & Splotchy with a Light Surface Ring, Front Cover Has a Signature from Previous Owner in Blue Pen, Record Very Good++ - Gatefold Sleeve, Stereo Recording, Product Code AS-9210 - California Residents Add 9.75% Sales Tax - International S & H Extra -