The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording [Live]

The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording [Live]

ASIN: B00005MAWI

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Recorded just a few months before John Coltrane's death on July 17, 1967, the importance of this document cannot be overstated. It captures the legendary tenor and soprano saxophonist live in concert at the Olatunji Center of African Culture in Harlem. Backed by an ensemble featuring his wife, pianist Alice Coltrane, bassist Jimmy Garrison, drummer Rashied Ali, and saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, Coltrane unleashes his most impassioned and complex performance on disc. The two extended compositions on this date, the Afro-Brazilian folk tune "Ogunde" and "My Favorite Things," are taken to their harmonic and rhythmic limits by Coltrane and company. Coltrane quite simply went where no musician had gone before. --Eugene Holley Jr.

The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording,John Coltrane,Universal,Avant-Garde Jazz,Free Jazz,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop

Average customer rating:

Historic Coltrane, Badly Recorded Though.

It's not just that it's a poor recording...

Pure & brutally honest music

Way better than I expected in terms of sound quality

THE OLATUNJI CONCERT: blazing!

The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording
John Coltrane
Manufacturer: Umvd Labels
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music
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Live in Seattle

Live in Japan

One Down, One Up: Live at the Half Note

Drums of Passion: The Beat

Stellar Regions

ASIN: B00005MAWI
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Tracks:

Introduction - Billy Taylor
Ogunde - John Coltrane
My Favorite Things - John Coltrane

Amazon.com

Recorded just a few months before John Coltrane's death on July 17, 1967, the importance of this document cannot be overstated. It captures the legendary tenor and soprano saxophonist live in concert at the Olatunji Center of African Culture in Harlem. Backed by an ensemble featuring his wife, pianist Alice Coltrane, bassist Jimmy Garrison, drummer Rashied Ali, and saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, Coltrane unleashes his most impassioned and complex performance on disc. The two extended compositions on this date, the Afro-Brazilian folk tune "Ogunde" and "My Favorite Things," are taken to their harmonic and rhythmic limits by Coltrane and company. Coltrane quite simply went where no musician had gone before. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Customer Reviews:

Historic Coltrane, Badly Recorded Though........2007-03-30

Historically speaking, John Coltrane's final live recording from April 1967 at the Olatunji Center in Harlem is one of extreme significance. It was the next to last time Coltrane ever performed live. Within three months, he would pass away from liver cancer.
The CD release of Coltrane's Olatunji Concert is unfortunately only recommended for the utmost Coltrane die-hard. Musically, the concert is one of extreme power and great musicianship. However, the sound quality of the recording is way below standard almost to the point of being unlistenable. This reviewers theory is that this was the only copy of this recording available so Impulse Records had no choice but to use it.
When listened to with the proper set of ears (ie: if you can filter through the distortion), the Olatunji Concert displays Coltrane's ensemble at their very best. Here, we get to hear Coltrane expand the percussive pallette by bringing in two percussionists to augement drummer Rashied Ali. Pharoah Sanders screeching tenor sax never sounded so violent yet so beautiful. Although he was obviously ill, John Coltrane himself was at his very best here as well. His multi-directional soprano sax work on the concert mainstay "My Favorite Things" is probably as far out as he has ever gotten. Granted, even if this was a high quality recording, it still would not be categorized as 'easy listening'.
The essay that's in the CD booklet is very informative offering an historical insight to the Olatunji Concert and its recording. There are many historic photos taken from Coltrane's late period including one from the Olatunji performance itself.
Because of the poor fidelity of this recording, it would have been nice if there were a warning label on the outside cover. Unfortunately, there isn't nor is there any mention of questionable sound quality in the CD booklet either. However, as mentioned above, this is an important and historical document that is recommended for the avid COltrane die-hard. For everyone else, this is definitely not recommended.
For more historic live Coltrane recordings of this late period with more listenable sound quality, I definitely recommend the four-disc "Live In Japan" from 1966 as well as the double-disc "Live In Seattle" from 1965.

It's not just that it's a poor recording..........2006-11-16

...it's that it is pretty much unlistenable (at least on headphones) because of a high-pitched whine throughout. Add that this is an adventurous performance even by Coltrane's standards and you have a splitting headache for all but the most dedicated completists.

Obviously this is a great pity given the recording's great historical significance.

Pure & brutally honest music.......2006-10-19

Despite the low sound quality, this is some of the most transcending music ever created in my opinion. It's abstract, it's sharp, it's whatever you want it to be. Above it all, it is very pure and brutally honest music performed by someone (John Coltrane) who has gone through many transitions throughout his life, and is simply expressing himself through the art of improvisation by going through any means possible to make his emotions as blatently obvious as he can. He goes beyond the limits of playing the saxophone, but making the instrument a part of himself; body, mind, and spirit.

This album isn't supposed to make you feel comfortable. It's supposed to change how you view life, how you listen to music, and essentially, what your potential can be, as well as your limits. John Coltrane understood that music was to be taken very personally. If at first you don't like this album -- which I can understand -- come back to it some other time. It really is a historical document of music in its purist state.

Way better than I expected in terms of sound quality.......2006-03-14

I waited a while to get this one (this was probably close to the 50th Coltrane CD I have purchased), and I was initially very reluctant to order this, mostly because I had heard negative comments about the recording quality. While it's true that the sound quality is not great, it's really not that bad either. At times the distortion that I hear even complements the music somehow. Pharoah Sanders really doesn't even sound like he's playing tenor, more like an electric guitar combined with human screaming, and he is, by the way, on fire this particular evening. This may be my favorite live recording of this group; it certainly made me fall in love with this era of Coltrane all over again. The two percussionists backing Ali also add to the power of this performance.

This is probably not the place to start if you're just getting into Coltrane, but I would certainly highly recommend this CD to anyone who already feels passionately about the music of John Coltrane.

THE OLATUNJI CONCERT: blazing!.......2005-09-22

many listeners will be put off by the low sound quality of this live concert, but i love it. i think it adds to the raw and fiery performance. i like the fact that drums are beaten so loudly that the sound levels go up a little bit into the red, or when Coltrane's playing soars to the shrieking side of the spectrum, you can almost feel the building shaking. personally, i think this is Coltrane's most important live record ever made. not just because it is the final concert, but because it shows his spirit of exploration and search for a musical truth were values that he never let go of. that fact, and his absolutely stunning and passionate playing on this record are life-affirming confirmation of the stamina and personal triumph of John Coltrane.