Alice Coltrane’s devotional recordings to be reissued via Matador

Matador Records has announced it’s reissuing Alice Coltrane‘s devotional releases from the ’80s and ’90s. Turiya Sings, Divine Songs, Infinite Chants, and Glorious Chants will each be released on CD, vinyl and digitally via Matador. The release dates have not yet been announced. Originally distributed via cassette to members of Sai Anantam Ashram north of Los Angeles, the recordings have long been out of print outside of a 2018 Luaka Bop collection of selected tracks and a 2021 release from Impulse!, Kirtan, which was an early mix of Turiya Sings sans synthesizer.

Alice Coltrane’s daughter Michelle said in a statement, “Alice’s vow to a monastic life opened a passageway that introduced her to ancient sacred recitations, voices, rhythms, and melodies – divine, ethereal sounds that bridged the material and spiritual realms. Many interpret this experience as offering a profound understanding of the human experience.

Musically, it’s a pure reflection of the life journey my mother was on at the time. She was seeking, in every, most authentic way, a life of devotion, transcendence, and spiritual elevation. The music was an inspired offering to the sanctity and feeling of this spiritual path.

The profundity of Turiya Alice Coltrane’s musical offerings now being made publicly available is in alignment with a divine order, something Alice often spoke about. Artists never stop creating.”

Read our feature on Alice Coltrane’s 1971 album Journey in Satchidananda. Her 1972 album World Galaxy is also featured on our list of 25 Essential Impulse! Records Albums.