Cosmic Music
The Life, Art, and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane
Contributors
By Andy Beta
Formats and Prices
- On Sale
- Mar 3, 2026
- Page Count
- 480 pages
- Publisher
- Da Capo
- ISBN-13
- 9780306836169
Price
$32.50Price
$42.00 CADFormat
Format:
- Hardcover $32.50 $42.00 CAD
- ebook $16.99 $21.99 CAD
- Audiobook Download (Unabridged) $31.99
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The first full-length biography of Alice Coltrane, the jazz musician and spiritual leader whose forward-thinking music was overshadowed by her more famous husband, even as she brilliantly laid the groundwork for the new age, ambient, and electronic music that would follow
Alice Coltrane (1937-2007) was one of the most forward-looking yet misunderstood artists of the last sixty years. For most of her life—and even in the decades since her passing—she was primarily known as the widow of the late John Coltrane. John Coltrane is widely seen as being one of the greatest tenor saxophonists and composers of the 20th century, with a fervor and devotion approaching sainthood. Yet ever so slowly, that level of love and appreciation is also being bestowed upon pianist, organist, harpist, and composer Alice Coltrane.
Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane is the first full biography of this remarkable, groundbreaking artist, and is an elegant, deeply researched corrective to the historical—and critical—record. It elevates Alice Coltrane to her proper place, both alongside her husband as one of the greatest musical visionaries of the 20th century, and also as a singular artist in Western music, one who became a spiritual leader in her lifetime. In the years since her passing, she has become a great influence on a new generation of musicians, especially women, people of color, and artists who seek to combine jazz with other musical forms, be it modern classical, electronic, Indian music, and more. Cosmic Music also unearths previously unknown connections between Alice Coltrane and other generational icons, from Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana, and Nina Simone to Mother Teresa and Doja Cat.
In Alice Coltrane’s music, one can perceive the transformation of Black American music in microcosm, the gospel roots giving rise to jazz and bebop, then intermingling with soul and R&B, and then onto rock, modern classical, psychedelia, and new age. She also became a devoted Hindu spiritual leader: in 1975 she founded the Sai Anantam Ashram, located in the hills near Malibu. Cosmic Music, based on extensive research and scores of new interviews by music journalist Andy Beta, is the definitive account of a visionary whose influence is only just beginning to be appreciated in full.
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“Underappreciated in her time because she was not of it, since her passing in 2007, Alice Coltrane’s talismanic influence has only grown to embody the ‘monument eternal’ she left behind on this earthly plane. With lyrical prose and cinematic storytelling, Andy Beta takes us on a peripatetic journey in the footsteps of one of the most significant musical innovators and spiritual leaders of the past century, tracing the cosmic path of Alice McLeod, who became Alice Coltrane, who became Swamini Turiyasangitananda. Her spiritual evolution parallels her musical evolution, from Detroit piano prodigy, to John Coltrane’s soulmate and close collaborator who revolutionized the harp for jazz and improvised music, to Mother Turiya, the visionary guru of Sai Anantam Ashram in Agoura Hills. How does one get closer to the transcendent universal consciousness we hear in Journey in Satchidananda? One answer is to read this book.”Aidan Levy, author of "Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins"
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“Andy Beta’s work on Alice Coltrane clarifies and contextualizes a still-extraordinary presence in American music.”Ben Ratliff, author of "Coltrane: The Story of a Song"
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“Definitive. . . . [Cosmic Music] not only fills out [Alice Coltrane’s] life, it goes a long way toward redeeming her as an artist. . . . Artists like Radiohead, Björk, and David Byrne have promoted her work, and Beta’s book does a valuable service as well; in its precision, empathy, and musical understanding, the book scours off the condescension that’s clung to her reputation and reveals her anew. An invaluable life of a pioneering artist, only now beginning to be fully understood.”Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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