Alice Coltrane

For those who follow jazz, Alice Coltrane can be a divisive figure. To some, she's not only done the world a service by emphasizing her husband John Coltrane's influence on 20th century music, but she was an accomplished jazz musician in her own right. To others, she was overrated, only semi-talented, and has forged a narrative of jazz history in which John Coltrane reigns supreme in changing its sound, while others central to the shift in jazz in the 1960s (most notably, but not only, Ornette Coleman) have been shunted aside, mere name-checks in a history that centers on Coltrane.

Regardless of the opinion, she has been an important figure in the creation of a jazz narrative, and her passing last week at age 69 unfortunately flew under the radar, as is so often the case with all things jazz in the print media.