Alice Coltrane; Musician, Spiritual Guru

She continued her jazz career for a while, playing the piano, harp and Wurlitzer organ in studio sessions with Jimmy Garrison and Pharoah Sanders, with Rashied Ali and Archie Shepp, and collaborating with Carlos Santana, Laura Nyro, McCoy Tyner and Jack DeJohnette.

In 1978, she decided to commit herself full time to her religious pursuits, though she never abandoned her work managing John Coltrane's estate. She also started the John Coltrane Foundation, which gives scholarships to young musicians.

She took on the Hindu name Turiyasangitananda and founded the Vedantic Center, paying a reported $1.3 million in 1983 for 50 acres of land nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains, about 40 miles from Los Angeles in Agoura Hills. There, she built the Sai Anantam Ashram, a communal living center where her followers could live and study. (Mrs. Coltrane settled with her family in nearby Woodland Hills.)

She never stopped making music, recording spiritual music with her ashram's choir, melding Sanskrit chants with organs and drums and a distinct gospel fervor.

In 2004 she returned to her jazz roots, releasing her last album, the critically acclaimed "Translinear Light," which included the gospel hymns of her Christian childhood, the Hindu hymns of her Vedantic-based beliefs and John Coltrane's compositions.

At the time of her death, she was working on "Sacred Language of Ascension," an album that incorporates Hebrew devotional chants, Vedic culture, Coltrane jazz and orchestral and congregational church music.

Last year, at the urging of her second-eldest son, Ravi, a saxophonist, she performed in four concerts across the country. She played with her sons, Ravi and Oran, as well as bassist Charlie Haden and members of her ashram's choir.

Survivors include her children, Michelle, Ravi and Oran; and five grandchildren. Her eldest son, John Coltrane Jr., died in a car accident in 1982.