Since then, Alice Coltrane’s music has continued to grow in stature, with a steady stream of reissues confirming a growing public interest in her work.
Three years later, on January 12, 2007, she passed away at the age of 69. In 2004, Alice was coaxed out of retirement to record a new album for Impulse!, Translinear Light, produced by her saxophone-playing son, Ravi Coltrane. 2006’s The Impulse! Story is, however, still in print, while for those who prefer their music on vinyl, a rare 1973 double-album compilation, Reflection On Creation And Space (A Five Year View), will reward those who are able to hunt it down.
For those unfamiliar with Alice Coltrane’s work, it represents a fine introduction, though it’s hard to find now. The late 90s saw the release of Astral Meditation: The Music Of Alice Coltrane, a compilation which drew on her Impulse! tenure. Cypress Hill famously sampled her 1972 track “Galaxy In Olodumare” on their 1993 hit “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That,” and, throughout the decade, her music was also a source of inspiration for The Beatnuts and Sneaker Pimps. Though Alice lived in quiet obscurity for many years, by the late 90s, hip-hop had brought her back into the public eye. Alice continued to make music during this time – under the name Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda – albeit on a sporadic basis. These spiritual concerns would eventually lead Alice to leave the music business altogether, following a three-album stint at Warner Bros in the late 70s, to focus on living a devout life in a Californian Ashram, where she became a spiritual director of its Vedantic Center.