"Infinity"

Often majestic, February 21, 2012 By Douglas Groothuis "Douglas Groothuis" Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Infinity (Audio CD) Somehow, although a Coltrane aficionado (to put it mildly), I had never heard this recording. It may have not been released on CD previously, and I had never seen the album. While only 38-minutes long (which was normal for an LP at the time), this recording brings the widow of John Coltrane back to his recorded music. Alice takes selected solos from her late husband and orchestrates them with strings, organ, harp, and more. The effect is often magical, majestic--although, at times, a bit cluttered. Yet the density is not deadly, but alluring, entrancing. I plan on listening to it many more times. Mrs. Coltrane understood her husband's work. The orchestrations seems to fit the earlier solos, which were recorded with a smaller group. We still hear Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones as supporting musicians. These were members of "the classic quartet" (1960-1965). We also hear from Charlie Haden on bass. While I cannot endorse the references to the philosophy of astrology in some of the music, the music itself stretches the soul in new directions. For this, I am thankful.