The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording — John Coltrane

This is not an easy listen, but it is an essential one.

'The Olatunji Concert' plunges you into the raw, unvarnished intensity of John Coltrane's final musical chapter. It's a sonic blast of free jazz, where saxophones wail with spiritual urgency, drums thunder with primal force, and the very fabric of the recording, with its tape hiss and ambient venue noise, becomes part of the experience.

Owning this album means possessing a direct, unfiltered conduit to a legendary artist's ultimate artistic statement, a testament to his relentless pursuit of transcendence even as his life neared its end. It's a challenging, cathartic, and profoundly moving journey into the heart of avant-garde jazz.

Tracklist · 3 Tracks

Introduction

0:32

Ogunde

28:36

My Favorite Things

34:37

Moments Worth Listening For

The almost ritualistic, percussive opening of 'Ogunde', setting a deeply spiritual yet raw tone.

The unbridled, intertwining saxophone duel between Coltrane and Sanders during the extended improvisation on 'My Favorite Things', pushing harmonic boundaries.

Moments where the recording quality noticeably shifts, with audience chatter or traffic noise bleeding in, emphasizing the raw, unedited, and historical nature of the event.

The piano's persistent, though often obscured, presence, providing a foundational counterpoint amidst the saxophone's sonic torrents, particularly on 'My Favorite Things'.

Reviews

Also reviewed byBBC Music

Where This Album Departs

How does The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording sound next to the rest of John Coltrane's catalogue?

This album stays in step with the catalogue across the board — no axis departs enough to be worth its own note. Hover the dots to see where each one sits.

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