Illuminations

    I don't know too much about jazz other than a passing familiarity, so forgive me if I'm ill-informed in how I speak about it. Illuminations is a collaborative album between Alice Coltrane and Carlos Santana and I like it a lot! Once again, I'm not very familiar with Coltrane or Santana's other works (although I do know of Santana in general) but this is an excellent showing and very promising for their other respective works if they are anything like this. The purely instrumental jazz is composed beautifully, with the different layers of a wide array of instruments, from classic brass and wind, to a prominent Wurlitzer, that build on each other wonderfully. The soundscape that the music develops is captivating and manages to hold you as it progresses and unfurls itself, really creating a rich atmosphere that I loved being in. The range of the tones that it's able to convey is great as well, managing to at times be dramatic, energetic, moody and more, and it all flows excellently into each other. The standouts among this already heavily impressive spread is Coltrane's electric organ and, of course, Santana's guitar, which are both as good as I think they could possibly be. I hope I'm not overselling the album, because I could see how it's potentially not for everyone with how meandering it can be at times, but for me it was great. 

    Highlights: Angel of Air/Angel of Water, Angel of Sunlight, Illuminations

Rating: 6/6