Monument Eternal: The Music of Alice Coltrane

"With an artistic vision that spanned the most archaic spirituals to the farthest-flung reaches of the cosmos, Alice Coltrane was much more than merely the wife of her legendary saxophonist husband. She was one of the most brilliant improvising artists that the 196os produced, but her eclectic creativity was frequently derided, dismissed, or misunderstood. In this fascinating book, Franva Berkman makes the persuasive case that Alice Coltrane's music reflects a lifelong engagement with the divine clement that often transcended the narrow implications of the word 'jazz,' and is most accurately understood in terms of her ongoing spiritual evolution. Richly contextualized, insightfully theorized, and musically rigorous, this work should contribute to a profound reappraisal of Alice Coltrane's legacy and contribution, of the often-neglected achievements of improvised music in the 1960's and 1970's, and of potent alter-narratives of African American spirituality."-Michael E. Veal, professor of ethnomusicology, Yale University

"To place Alice Coltrane at the center of her own musical and spiritual journey is to discover new planes of jazz history, including spiritual and secular musical connections, as well as little-known areas of African American religious, musical, and cultural history."-Sherrie Tucker, associate professor of American Studies, University of Kansas

"Monument Eternal is a fascinating reading of the life and work of Alice Coltrane. This book will be of great value to jazz studies, women's studies, African American studies, and religious studies, as well as to everyday readers who will be fascinated by this portrait of an innovative artist who discovered new ways of connecting musical and spiritual practices."-George Lewis, Case Professor of American Music, Columbia University

FRANYA BERKMAN is an assistant professor in the Department of Music at Lewis & Clark College.