Since most (if not all) of the master tapes from legit
Impulse!
recording sessions have been released, the label continued on with a "digging in the crates" approach to expanding their
John Coltrane
catalog. Subsequently, they came across this recording that
'Trane
arranged to record without the assistance (or interference) of
.
Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording
documents a live performance on April 23, 1967, one of the last times
Coltrane
would appear on stage, as he passed three months later. Strictly as a document, this is a rich and telling recording. It demonstrates his sonic blast
free jazz
direction that was becoming more aggressive and out of bounds; It portrays what could have been one of the most dynamically stellar groups of the mid-1960s
avant jazz
scene with
Pharoah Sanders
(who, in some ways, steals the show),
Alice Coltrane
,
Rashied Ali
, and
Jimmy Garrison
totally ripping it up; it also gives the average collector a taste of what the maniacal collector goes out of their way to find, as the sound quality is on the level of a sub-par bootleg. Don't expect to hear
Bob Theil
's warm production or one of
Rudy Van Gelder
's pristine live recordings a la
Live at the Village Vanguard
. Instead the equalization is uneven, and there are some parts where the tape drops out. Besides that though, this is essential for seasoned
listeners . ~ Sam Samuelson