Alice Lucille Coltrane (née McLeod; August 27, 1937 – January 12, 2007), also known as Swamini Turiyasangitananda (IAST: Svāminī Turīyasaṅgītānanda) or simply Turiya, was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and Hindu spiritual leader.
One day, when she was struggling with her health and caring for her young family of four children, there was a knock at the door and to her immense surprise a full-sized Lyon & Healy concert harp was delivered, having been ordered by her husband for her before his unexpected death.
Albums like Universal Consciousness (1971), and World Galaxy (1972), show a progression from a four-piece line-up to a more orchestral approach, with lush string arrangements and cascading harp glissandos.
She suffered from severe weight loss and sleepless nights, as well as hallucinations, which she would later describe as her undergoing tapas (a Sanskrit term for austere spiritual practices).
Seeing Coltrane in a state of emotional turmoil and wanting to help, a musical colleague of hers introduced her to the Yoga guru Swami Satchidananda, under whom she would take mantra diksha and study Hinduism during the early 1970s.
[8] During the mid-1970s, she underwent a mystical experience wherein she believed God had initiated her directly into sannyasa, giving her the monastic name Turiyasangitananda,[9] which she translated as "the Transcendental Lord's Highest Song of Bliss."
She developed original melodies from the traditional chants and started to experiment by including synthesizers, sophisticated song structures and aspects of Gospel music in her compositions.
During the late 1970s to early 1980s, Coltrane would become progressively more influenced by the ecstatic devotionalism of the Sathya Sai Baba movement and ISKCON communities present on the West Coast, incorporating their bhajans into her artistic milieu.
[11] Coltrane would eventually meet Bhaktivedanta Swami in person while on a pilgrimage to Vrindavan, India on July 1, 1977, after being invited by ISKCON leaders to perform at various Ratha-yatra festivals across the United States.
[14] Until her death, she remained an ardent devotee of Sai Baba and undertook frequent pilgrimages with her students to his residence in Puttaparthi, India to acquire his blessings.
Following a 25-year break from major public performances, she returned to the stage for three U.S. appearances in the fall of 2006, including a concert at Ann Arbor's Hill Auditorium presented by University Musical Society of the University of Michigan on September 23, which would have been John Coltrane's 80th birthday, and culminating on November 4 with a concert for the San Francisco Jazz Festival with her son Ravi, drummer Roy Haynes, and bassist Charlie Haden.
[16][17] Alice Coltrane died of respiratory failure at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in suburban Los Angeles in 2007, aged 69.
[25] Cauleen Smith's conceptual art exhibition Give It or Leave It featured two films, "Pilgrim" (2017) and "Sojourner" (2018), exploring Alice Coltrane's music and ashram.
[26] Studio and live albums Compilations With John Coltrane With Terry Gibbs With Roland Kirk With McCoy Tyner With Joe Henderson With Charlie Haden With Various Artists