ALICE COLTRANE - 'A MONASTIC TRIO'

Formats

• SV020 - LP

  857176003201

Details

Born Alice McLeod into a musical Detroit family, Alice Coltrane began playing piano at age seven and later studied with Bud Powell in Paris. Upon returning to the States, she joined vibraphonist Terry Gibbs’s group and eventually shared a bill with the John Coltrane Quartet. In 1965, the two wed in Juárez, Mexico, and played alongside one another until her husband’s last performance in May, 1967. A Monastic Trio, created in the year following her husband’s passing, is Coltrane’s first recording as a band leader and features six original compositions. While John’s spirit can be felt throughout—from the song titles (“Ohnedaruth” was his adopted Hindu name) to the personnel (Jimmy Garrison, Rashied Ali, and Pharoah Sanders were frequent collaborators)— the album showcases Alice’s immense talent for fusing spiritual free jazz and new age with classical, Eastern, post-bop and gospel. As the late Amiri Baraka writes, “‘I Want to See You’ is a monastic piano concerto. With echoes of Europe..., it has a solemnity and majesty to it.... Yes, monastic is the word. The piano broods in its earth imagination.”

Tracks

1. Ohnedaruth
2. Gospel Trane
3. I Want to See You
4. Lovely Sky Boat
5. Oceanic Beloved
6. Atomic Peace

Press

Audio & Video

LESLIE WINER - 'WITCH'

Formats

• SV040 - LP

  857176003409

Details

Produced in the twilight of the ’80s in London and originally released on white-label LP with a homemade rubber stamp impression, Witch is the mysterious and powerful debut from poet, artist and musician Leslie Winer. It’s an infectious patchwork of dub beats, tasteful samples and Winer’s sultry blend of spoken word with cool, folksy lullabies that later became popularized by acts such as Massive Attack and Tricky. Even though Witch predates those artists’ breakthroughs by a year or more, Winer quickly rejected NME’s christening her as the “grandmother of triphop.” No stranger to the concept of fame and its pitfalls, Winer moved to New York in the late ’70s to attend university and befriended William S. Burroughs and Jean-Michel Basquiat, among other street-level luminaries. Her striking, androgynous looks eventually led to a successful modeling career. As the ’80s closed, Winer chose to use © instead of her own name as a moniker; the front cover of Witch features an ouroboros around the letter C to form a copyright symbol. Winer’s spoken delivery evokes the frank realism of beat poetry; her lyrics grapple with socially constructed notions of beauty, womanhood and domestic roles. These stark challenges to power structures are articulate and staggeringly direct, pushing the boundaries of pop music’s form. This message, matched with Winer’s uncanny approach and melodic ear, fitted with an electro-acoustic palette built on tension and restraint, culminates in the extraordinary work that—as John Peel said—is “the very definition of a hidden gem.” • First-time domestic vinyl release of long out-of-print “hidden gem” (according to John Peel) • Features Jah Wobble (Public Image Ltd.) • For fans of Portishead, Vincent Gallo, Lifetones

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video