Pursuance : The Coltranes, Lakecia Benjamin
There’s always been an undeniable mystical, enticing element to the music of the Coltranes and on Pursuance, Benjamin is mindful of retaining the underlying spirituality of these compositions – “they were writing songs to indian gods, to christian gods, to muslim gods – their whole idealogy was that every religion is one and we’re all one with god.” In this regard, Pursuance speaks to the unifying nature of the jazz artform. Every member of this cross-generational recording ensemble welcomed the opportunity to collaborate and pay homage to each other. “Music is a reflection of our times; a reflection of the spirit of our times,” Benjamin continues. “In our current social and political climate, we need music to heal the soul.” Just as the timeless compositions of the Coltranes connected with audiences of yesteryear, Pursuance brings this material into 2020 with carefully conceived modern arrangements. Each of the thirteen tracks on Pursuance are tunes that instantly resonated with Benjamin upon first listen – seven of which originally composed by John, with six credited to Alice. The selection includes “Liberia”, “Prema”, “Central Park West”, “Walk With Me”, “Going Home”, “Syeeda’s Song Flute”, “Spiral”, “Om Shanti”, “Alabama”, “Acknowledgement”, “Pursuance”, “Turiya and Ramakrishna” and “Affinity”.
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