E460 - 2026.06.08 Vijay Iyer on Alice Coltrane - 2 of 3

The moment you invoke the name of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda, the widow of John Coltrane, you open a door into other ways of understanding.  She was part of her husband's last working band, but after his death, and for the next 40 years, her music became suffused with her spiritual practice and mystical experiences.  Her conviction was so thorough that some listeners found it alienating, but others were compelled by it.  Although she is no longer with us, her music remains a deep well of discovery.   Pianist Vijay Iyer has explored her music richly.  What has he found in it? What influenc...