WELCOME TO LPCDREISSUES
Originally issued privately on cassette in 1982, Turiya Sings documents a profound period of spiritual and musical transformation in Alice Coltrane’s life. By this time, she had increasingly withdrawn from the conventional jazz world and was creating devotional music for the community surrounding her Vedantic Center in California.
Using the spiritual name Swamini Turiyasangitananda, Coltrane composed and performed nine devotional songs based on Sanskrit chants and sacred names. Her voice occupies the centre of the recordings, accompanied by organ, synthesizer and sweeping string arrangements. The music combines elements of Indian devotional singing, gospel, spiritual jazz and ambient music, yet belongs entirely to Coltrane’s singular musical language.
“Jagadishwar” opens the album with a deeply resonant vocal performance surrounded by luminous keyboards and slowly rising strings. “Jai Ramachandra” and “Krishna Krishna” develop through repeated invocations, melodic organ figures and an atmosphere of ecstatic devotion, while the extended “Rama Katha” unfolds with an almost orchestral sense of scale.
The second side continues the meditative journey through “Yamuna Tira Vihari,” “Charanam” and “Govinda Hari.” Coltrane’s singing moves between gentle contemplation and powerful gospel-like intensity, with the layered electronic and string textures giving the music a vast, celestial quality. “Hara Siva” and “Pranadhana” bring the album to a peaceful and deeply affecting conclusion.
Originally available only to members and visitors of the Vedantic Center, Turiya Sings remained one of the least accessible recordings in Alice Coltrane’s catalogue for decades. This B.Free vinyl edition reproduces the original nine-song programme, preserving the richly layered devotional sound of the privately issued 1982 cassette.
Track listing:
Side A
A1. Jagadishwar
A2. Jai Ramachandra
A3. Krishna Krishna
A4. Rama Katha
Side B
B1. Yamuna Tira Vihari
B2. Charanam
B3. Govinda Hari
B4. Hara Siva
B5. Pranadhana
