Jazz pianist Alice Coltrane, widow of jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, died Friday, Jan. 12 at the West Hills Hospital near Los Angeles. She was 69.

Coltrane was born Alice Lucille McLeod in Detroit on August 27, 1937 and studied classical piano and played organ in church. She moved to New York in the early 1960s and she met John Coltrane while playing at Birdland with vibraphonist Terry Gibbs. They later married and she joined his quartet in 1966. John Coltrane died in July 1967.

Coltrane was a noted jazz artist and composer throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s. After a lengthy hiatus, she recently staged concerts in Paris and the U.S. The performances followed the 2004 release of "Translinear Light," her first studio album in 27 years.

She is survived by her sons Ravi and Oran, her daughter Michelle and five grandchildren.

The Coltrane family has requested donations to the following charities:

The John Coltrane Foundation -- www.johncoltrane.com
21777 Ventura Blvd., Suite 253 Woodland Hills CA 91367

St Jude Children's Research Hospital -- www.stjude.org

Musicare Foundation -- www.grammy.com/MusiCares
156 W. 56th St. Suite 1701, New York NY 10019

Habitat for Humanity -- www.habitat.org/donation