“I Play When I Want To”

I feel so much gratitude for this beautiful anthology, edited by Dr. Leonard Brown:  John Coltrane and Black America’s Quest for Freedom, Spirituality and the Music…please consider gifting yourself and those you love with this fine collection.  This morning I feel so moved by the piece Dr. Tammy Kernodle wrote about Alice Coltrane:  “Freedom is a Constant Struggle:  Alice Coltrane and the Redefining of the Jazz Avant-Garde”…for some reason what hit me so hard was the way John really had his finances and vision of financial and creative freedom in place before he so suddenly died in 1967.  There’s an interview with Alice from 1971 where she talks about not feeling the pressure, as a widowed mother of 4, to tour her new recording projects…

“I play when I want to…John worked hard for this…I am free.  John did this.  I got an offer to go to Japan but I won’t go ten thousand miles on someone else’s terms….  My true expression is in my art and my kids.”

So moved by this love and this vision of freedom….had to lift it up on this day of gratitude.

Joy and major gratitude for folks popping into the blog as I’ve been so entrenched in my studies…I will catch up this winter break…so much good music to celebrate!  Soon come…