Alice Coltrane. Music beyond music. Our Cosmic Music Special Edition tee with @andybeta.bsky.social is now available.

‘She wanted to disappear in silence’: the magical life and mysterious death of married musician duo Irena and Vojtěch Havlovi Blending minimalism, ambient and folk music in the former Czechoslovakia, the couple made pilgrim-like tours around Europe, beguiling everyone they met. Fans including the National’s Bryce Dessner exp...

"She wanted to disappear in silence." Heartbroken to hear of Irena's recent unreported passing, but heartened to know she has now joined Vojtěch in the next life: www.theguardian.com/music/2026/a...

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'Speakeasies to Symphonies' and 'Cosmic Music' chronicle 2 jazz greats Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews biographies of two musicians who transcended jazz, and to whom recognition was slow in coming: James P. Johnson, born in 1894, and Alice Coltrane, born in 1937.

NGL, really cool to hear Cosmic Music discussed on NPR: www.npr.org/2026/04/13/n...

Twofer Tuesday #16 The magic of Brazilian artist Priscilla Ermel and the world musical memory amid the global pandemic

Forgetting to remember a review from the first week of the pandemic and going into the cinematic rainforest of Priscilla Ermel's music: substack.com/home/post/p-...

wow hot

Sergio Mendez - The Real Thing YouTube video by Carlos Emanuel

We could really use a comp of all the blessings Stevie bestowed on others, like this silky stepper: youtu.be/yBl0ySfDBqE?...

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Hardcover edition of Cosmic Music by Andy Beta. The cover image is Alice Coltrane with stars in her Afro. White and orange text on a pink background

Alice Coltrane Journey in Satchidananda LP. The cover photo shows her sitting in a long white and blue dress, looking pensively away from the camera in front of a red background

Shall we go?

What's really funny is that the dog house was in better shape (and still standing!) than the original Coltrane Home when they started renovations on it post-Sandy.

I wrote I wanted a "more skeptical eye" RE: Alice Coltrane's visions in "Cosmic Music."

But then I listened to @andybeta.bsky.social with @marcissist.bsky.social on the Music Book Podcast and it gave a lot more depth to his decisions. Recommended.

themusicbookpodcast.buzzsprout.com/2120946/epis...

Bang Tango wuz robbed

Chatted music, spirituality, and writing about a saint with @tylerwilcox.bsky.social for @aquariumdrunkard.com: aquariumdrunkard.com/2026/04/07/c...

Alice Coltrane. A true visionary. Cosmic Music Special Edition 👕 . Small batch. Coming soon with @andybeta.bsky.social

And then it plunges straight into that massive "Kunta Kinte" dub plate

Pics or it didn't happen

Funny, I just snapped these paragraphs from Saidiya Hartman's Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, in part because they remind me so much of the impetus behind Mancuso's early Loft parties:

San Antonio-raised author Andy Beta’s new book offers look at jazz innovator Alice Coltrane Beta's first book, Cosmic Music: The Life, Art, and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane, unpacks the legacy of John Coltrane's wife — an innovator in her own right.

Hometown paper: www.sacurrent.com/music/san-an...

I was stunned that Dakota Johnson's invite to me misspelled the name of her own book club

Webb headline is something else

Tonight!
With Brandee Younger, the legendary Tulsi, and @jennpelly.bsky.social as.nyu.edu/departments/...

It's like Shawty's birthday all over again

UK release day for Cosmic Music:

By law in the state of Texas, you had to watch Walker, Texas Ranger every Saturday night in the 1990s.

Dan was on right after me at The Lot that day!

"Incredible" "Billy Joel" never belong in the same sentence

A chat with @grantsharpies.bsky.social for @pastemagazine.bsky.social
"Her spirituality is the centerpiece. There was a certain point in writing the book, probably about two-thirds of the way in, and I sort of hit a spot where I’m like, 'This is no longer a music biography.' It kind of falls away."

Andy Beta wrote the Alice Coltrane biography he always wanted to read Paste Magazine is your source for the best music, movies, TV, comedy, videogames, books, comics, craft beer, politics and more. Discover your favorite albums and films.

For the latest edition of my Audio Books column at @pastemagazine.bsky.social / @avclub.com, I had a nice conversation with @andybeta.bsky.social about his new Alice Coltrane biography

Next Tuesday at NYU's Colloquium of Unpopular Culture: as.nyu.edu/departments/...

Alice Coltrane and Eternity in 1976 | The Quietus Andy Beta's new book Cosmic Music traces the spiritual and musical history of one of jazz's true outliers, Alice Coltrane

Eternity today over at @thequietus.com: thequietus.com/culture/book...