Cosmic Music: The Life, Art, and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane - Hardcover

by Andy Beta (Author)

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 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. Yet ever so slowly, that level of love and appreciation is also being bestowed upon pianist, organist, harpist, and composer Alice Coltrane.

Cosmic Music is the first full biography of this remarkable, groundbreaking artist — 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 as a singular artist in Western music 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 — 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.

Based on extensive research and scores of new interviews by music journalist Andy Beta, this is the definitive account of a visionary whose influence is only just beginning to be appreciated in full.

Author Biography

Andy Beta is an award-winning arts and music writer. His writing on rock, jazz, experimental, and electronic music has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Texas Monthly, NPR, and many more. He lives in New York City.