Universal Consciousness

Universal Consciousness
Studio album by
Alice Coltrane
ReleasedSeptember 1971[1]
Recorded6 April – 19 June 1971
GenreAvant-garde jazz, free jazz
Length36:40
LabelImpulse! Records
ProducerAlice Coltrane and Brian Konairz
Alice Coltrane chronology
Journey in Satchidananda
(1970) 		Universal Consciousness
(1971) 		World Galaxy
(1972)

Universal Consciousness is the fifth solo album by Alice Coltrane. It was recorded from April to June, 1971, in New York City and at the Coltrane home studios in Dix Hills, New York, and was released later that year by Impulse! Records. On the album, Coltrane appears on harp and organ, and is joined by bassist Jimmy Garrison, drummers Jack DeJohnette, Rashied Ali, and Clifford Jarvis, and, on three tracks, a quartet of violins playing parts arranged by Ornette Coleman.[2][3] It was the first in a series of three albums (preceding World Galaxy and Lord of Lords) on which Coltrane appeared with an ensemble of strings.[4]

Universal Consciousness was recorded shortly after Coltrane returned from a trip to India,[5] and was the first album on which she is heard playing the Wurlitzer organ.[6] In an interview, she related her decision to use the instrument to her interest in Indian music, comparing its sound to that of the harmonium and tambura.[6] Her introduction to the organ also marked a turning point in her outlook as a musician; referring to the fact that the instrument has "two or three manuals and complete bass in the pedals," she recalled: "when I began to play the organ, there came the freedom and understanding that I would never have to depend on anyone else musically."[7]

In 2011, Impulse! reissued the album, along with Lord of Lords, as part of a compilation titled Universal Consciousness/Lord of Lords.[8][9]

  1. ^ "Billboard". 11 September 1971.
  2. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Alice Coltrane: Universal Consciousness". AllMusic. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  3. ^ "Alice Coltrane - Universal Consciousness". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  4. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Alice Coltrane: Lord of Lords". AllMusic. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  5. ^ Berkman, Franya J. (2010). Monument Eternal: The Music of Alice Coltrane. Wesleyan University Press. p. 79.
  6. ^ a b Berkman, Franya J. (2010). Monument Eternal: The Music of Alice Coltrane. Wesleyan University Press. p. 80.
  7. ^ Berkman, Franya J. (2010). Monument Eternal: The Music of Alice Coltrane. Wesleyan University Press. p. 81.
  8. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Alice Coltrane: Universal Consciousness/Lord of Lords". AllMusic. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  9. ^ "Alice Coltrane - Universal Consciousness/Lord of Lords". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved October 28, 2022.