Originally released on Impulse! in 1971, Universal Consciousness is
a major turning point in Alice Coltrane's momentous career. While
her previous albums pushed the limits of spiritual free-jazz and featured
much of her late husband's band, Universal Consciousness
expands the harpist / pianist's compositional palette with organ and
strings (working with Ornette Coleman).
"Oh Allah" is the finest example of Coltrane's new direction: tense
violins dissolve into sublime organ solos and exquisite brushwork
from long-time Mile Davis collaborator Jack DeJohnette. While the
title track undulates with a fierce clamor, "Hare Krishna" showcases
Coltrane's uncanny ability for transcendent and slow-paced arrangements.
In The Wire's "100 Records That Set the World on Fire," David
Toop writes, "[Universal Consciousness] clearly connects to other
dyspeptic jazz traditions-the organ trio, the soloists with strings-
yet volleys them into outer space, ancient Egypt, the Ganges, the great
beyond. The production is astounding, the quality of improvisation
is riveting, the string arrangements are apocalyptic rather than saccharine,
the balance of turbulence and calm a genuine dialectic that
later mystic / exotic post-jazz copped out of pursuing. Her lack of constraint
was dimly regarded by adherents of '70s jazz and its masculine
orthodoxies, yet Alice deserved better credit for virtuosity, originality,
and the sheer will power needed to realized her vision."
This first-time vinyl re
