Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>I introduce the key purposes of the book: to explore the connections between Black composers and musicians and their spiritual quest with the American counterculture and to emphasize the contributions of women artists as well such as Alice Coltrane and Nicole Mitchell. Young people sought to find new pathways to mystical experience which were not afforded by the orthodox, institutionalized monotheistic religions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Both jazz musicians and Beat writers studied deeply ancient texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, following in the footsteps of Transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Brief descriptions of each chapter are given and key areas of connections are discussed including Buddhism, Native American traditions, Kabbalah and Hinduism.</jats:p>