Alice and son Ravi Coltrane with a photograph of John, and the piano he gave her in 1964
J. EMILIO FLORES/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES
The songs on the new album are scaleddown versions of the bhajans we hear chanted in India. The Vedic hymns there are sung by one solo lead voice and repeated by a large choir to create a cyclical call and response. Mother chose to sing and accompany herself on this recording. Mother’s inflection of her own style embodied and shaped the arrangements.