Co-Presented with The Coltrane Home and (((folkYEAH!)))

This special performance is part of the John & Alice Coltrane Home’s Year of Alice project celebrating the life and legacy of Alice Coltrane. It features an ensemble (listed below) led by Sita Michelle Coltrane, their Artistic Director, vocalist, composer and daughter of Alice.

Michelle Coltrane (Vocals), Lisa E. Harris (Vocals), Arianna Gouveia (Vocals), Shea Welsh (Guitar), Tateng Katindig (Piano), Brian Juarez (Bass), Deszon Claiborne (Drums), Tristan Harrison Cappel (Saxophone / flute), and Destiny Muhammed (Harp).

Michelle Coltrane is a vocalist, composer, and Artistic Director of the John & Alice Coltrane Home in Dix Hills, New York. Born in Paris, France, her immersion in music began at an early age with violin, viola, and clarinet lessons as well as singing in an ensemble at the ashram founded by her mother Alice. Michelle began traveling the world in her mid-20s, living in Japan while performing, composing, and DJing.

Michelle has released several recordings as a leader including most recently, Awakening, her acclaimed 2017 release on the BluJazz label. As well as continuing her touring and recording career, Michelle furthers her family legacy through her leadership on Coltrane projects including The John & Alice Coltrane Home and the “Year of Alice” project celebrating her mother’s life and career. A centerpiece of this series is an Oral History program led by Michelle and featuring Brandee Younger currently touring museums and universities. In addition, Michelle leads panel discussions devoted to the Coltrane legacy and continues to perform regularly at major venues across the country.

Michelle’s November concert at The Freight is a part of the “Year of Alice” project. The Year of Alice spans 2024-2025 and features previously unreleased music and reissues, brand new community programming, a multimedia museum exhibit at The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, specially curated concerts, newly choreographed ballet works and more. All inspired by and celebrating the life and legacy of Alice Coltrane. The Year Of Alice was launched as Alice Coltrane was nominated into Downbeat Magazine’s Hall Of Fame.

The Coltrane Home in Dix Hills, New York is where John Coltrane composed his seminal work A Love Supreme and Alice Coltrane recorded several of her albums for the Impulse Record label including Journey In Satchidananda and Ptah, the El Daoud.

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Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda was an American jazz pianist, organist, harpist, singer, composer, swamini, and the wife of John Coltrane. Turiyasangitananda translates as the Transcendental Lord’s highest song of Bliss.

In the early 60’s she began playing jazz as a professional in Detroit with her own trio and as a duo with vibist Terry Pollard. Alice would collaborate and performed with Kenny Clarke, Kenny Burrell, Ornette Coleman, Pharaoh Sanders, Charlie Haden, Roy Haynes, Jack DeJonette, and Carlos Santana. She replaced McCoy Tyner as pianist with the John Coltrane quartet and continued to play and record with the band until John’s death in 1967.

Alice’s interest in gospel, classical, and jazz music led to the creation of her own innovative style. Her talents expressed more fully when she became a solo recording artist. Her proficiency on keyboard, organ, and harp was remarkable. Later her natural musical artistry matured into amazing arrangements and compositions. She was prolific in her creation, with iconic works that include Journey In Satchidananda ( one of Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums ), A Monastic Trio, Universal Consciousness, Ptah, the El Daoud, and continued creating music when she started her ashram in California – music from that time would later be released to critical acclaim. Beyond her recorded output ( elegantly explored in The New York Times’ Five Minutes That Will Make You Love Alice Coltrane ), Coltrane was a beloved and wise spiritual leader, a pragmatic person with a keen eye for business, and a deeply giving human, who emphasized the importance of charitable giving, education, and spiritual guidance. Her twenty recordings cover a time span from Monastic Trio (1968) to Translinear Light (2004).

“Turiya Alice Coltrane’s music is the supreme healer of the earth, humans and the galaxy. It is the ultimate medicine music.” - Carlos Santana