Alice Coltrane, Monument Eternal - by Alice Coltrane & Erin Christovale (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Rashid Johnson, Cauleen Smith and others pay tribute to a truly extraordinary figure in 20th-century American jazz

Published with Hammer Museum.

This volume unpacks the cultural legacy of musician, spiritual leader, wife and mother Alice Coltrane. Accompanying the eponymous exhibition at Los Angeles' Hammer Museum, the book takes its title from Coltrane's 1977 autobiography and devotional text, Monument Eternal, in which she reflected on her newfound spiritual beliefs and the path to healing and self-discovery. Coltrane was "ahead of her time," as her son, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, says: she was "one of the first people to move outside the mainstream, and certainly one of the first female, Black, American jazz musicians to record her own music in her own studio, and to release music on her own terms."
Alice Coltrane, Monument Eternal explores themes including spiritual transcendence, sonic innovation and architectural intimacy. The project juxtaposes works from 19 contemporary American artists with pieces of ephemera from Coltrane's archive--including handwritten sheet music, unreleased audio recordings and rarely seen footage--to honor her cultural output and practice.
Alice Coltrane was born in Detroit in 1937 and took up music at an early age, beginning piano lessons at seven years old. In 1967 her husband, saxophonist John Coltrane, gifted her a harp, on which she went on to record seminal albums including Journey in Satchidananda and A Monastic Trio, making her one of the very few harpists in the history of jazz. Coltrane moved to Southern California in 1972 and founded the Sai Anantam ashram. She lived and worked in Los Angeles, where she died in 2007 at age 69.

Review Quotes

'Alice Coltrane, Monument Eternal' at the Hammer Museum, curated by Erin Christovale, creates a gently pulsing orb that expands far outside the realm of a typical exhibition. It explores the legacy of musician and spiritual leader Alice Coltrane, guiding museum-goers away from the daily humdrum and into a cool trance. You will leave changed, and improved.--Nereya Otieno "Hyperallergic"

An intimate portrait of Coltrane herself emerges through collected ephemera, including unreleased recordings, footage and personal letters.--Janelle Zara "Galerie magazine"

Archival gems such as the composer's musical manuscripts, unreleased audio recordings and seldom-seen video footage also allow us to get a little closer to this sonic innovator.--Kristina Foster "The Financial Times"

Curated by Erin Christovale, the exhibition creates a rich constellation of music-adjacent works to twinkle in the sky alongside Coltrane's cool blue world.--Dan Duray "The Observer"

Every artist in the show was impacted and influenced by Coltrane, both in their lives and art practices.--Chad Scott "Forbes"

I am deeply grateful for the life and legacy of such a profoundly elevated spirit.--Suné Woods "Frieze"

Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead has cited [Alice Coltrane] as an influence. She shared the stage with musicians as disparate as Carlos Santana and Pharoah Sanders. Along with her contemporary Dorothy Ashby, she introduced one of music's most ancient instruments, the harp, into the jazz canon. Yet, during most of her lifetime, Alice Coltrane's contributions were not considered part of the jazz pantheon [...] that's changing, according to curator Erin Christovale.--Sophie Lee "Cultured"

The exhibition has an almost bespoke feel, rousing a quiet elegance that evokes a sacred space.--Michael Callahan "W Magazine"

The first exhibition to examine Coltrane's life and legacy through art.--Cerys Davies "Los Angeles Times"

The first major exhibition honoring Coltrane's legacy is rooted in a call to action for those ready to dig deeper into their own purpose, and allowing her work to be an awakening force to guide it.--Nabu Ramou "The Guardian"

The Hammer's portrait of Coltrane highlights the elusive nature of memorial. In 'Monument Eternal, ' Coltrane is a divine icon, subsumed by a sea of other voices.--Nicole Kaack "ArtReview"

This groundbreaking and multisensorial exhibition calls forward Alice's autobiography and brings together a collective of contemporary Black American artists whose lives and practices were impacted and influenced by Coltrane.-- "Los Angeles Review of Books"

What we ultimately witness is the feeling of the Hammer itself praying on her altar, which is what's brilliant about the curatorial work of the project: Its limitations become the artistic statement.--Harmony Holiday "Los Angeles Times"

[This exhibition] is breaking new ground by examining Alice Coltrane's influence in a field that she did not practice herself but where her life story has resonated and her ideas have found purchase: contemporary visual art.--Siddhartha Mutter "The New York Times"