Ogunde (song)
"Ogunde" | |
---|---|
Composition by John Coltrane | |
from the album Expression | |
Released | 1967 |
Recorded | 1967 |
Genre | Free jazz |
Length | 3:36 |
Label | Impulse! |
Composer(s) | John Coltrane |
"Ogunde" is the opening track on
Origins and composition
"Ogunde" is the opening track on
The original release of "Ogunde" features Coltrane on
According to David Wild's
Music and structure
"Ogunde" is a
PopMatters reviewer James Beaudreau further notes that Coltrane's performance in "Ogunde" reflects the personal style that he evolved prior to his death: "ecstatic, brightly focused, and with a kaleidoscopic vibrato". According to Beaudreau, the starting phrase of "Ogunde", which features Coltrane, "sounds like an ending, as if the whole of the music could be summed up in a single noble cadence". The song is characterized by a sequence that features multiple performers and sounds and includes a fourteen-minute period, starting at 2:40, for which Coltrane is completely absent, and which is dominated by the sounds of Sanders' saxophone and Alice Coltrane's piano,[6] as well as lengthy solos by Coltrane, Sanders, and Alice.[5]
When Sanders finally relents at about 10:00, Alice Coltrane’s piano comes to the fore ... . Her sound is quick and colorful, intelligent and playful. When Coltrane returns at 16:40 and hovers around the same scale for a minute, the result is like the sun breaking out after a storm. His extraordinary solo builds majestically through the restatement of the theme at 25 minutes and a coda startling for its power and inventiveness. His last phrase sounds electrified—something like Jimi Hendrix might have played, but with a depth of the darkest blue and technique that in earlier times might have been thought diabolical.
— James Beaudreau[6]
Reception
On the whole, "Ogunde" was well received by
BBC reviewer Peter Marsh characterized Coltrane's solo performance during the song as "a gripping, restless examination of repeated phrases, accelerated at dizzying speed till they break up and regroup" and describes the performance as one having both "power and grace".[7]
Many reviews of "Ogunde" give special attention to Sanders' performance in the extended version of the song. Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times praised Sanders' performance, asserting that "Sanders is at his very best on 'Ogunde'".[15] Beaudreau offered a mixed assessment, finding "Sanders’ endurance" to be "impressive" and his performance "attractive and admirable", but noting that the performance tests his "tolerance for extended and insistent shrill wailing" and that "the lack of warmth here leaves me out in the cold, so to speak".[6]
Appearances
In addition to Expression and Olatunji Concert, versions of "Ogunde" have been featured on several other albums, including His Greatest Years, Vol. 2: The Best of John Coltrane (MCA, 1990),[16] Spiritual (Impulse!, 2001),[17] and The Impulse Story (Impulse!, 2006).[18] The song is also featured in Sacred Sources, Vol. 1: Live Forever, a compilation album released in 1994 by Carlos Santana's record label Guts & Grace that features recordings from the final performances of famous artists.[19][20] A short excerpt of "Ogunde" also appears on
Album | Released | Label | Length |
---|---|---|---|
His Greatest Years, Vol. 2: The Best of John Coltrane | 1990 | MCA Records | 3:40 |
The Last Giant: Anthology | 1993 | Rhino Records |
1:30 |
Sacred Sources, Vol. 1: Live Forever | 1994 | Guts & Grace | 5:27 |
Spiritual | 2001 | Impulse! Records | 3:38 |
The Impulse Story | 2006 | Impulse! Records | 3:36 |
"Ogunde" was one of fifteen compositions performed in 2003 at
Notes
- ^ Mr. Trend (2007-09-08). "Mister Trend's Random 10". AlterDestiny.
- ^ a b c d e Yanow, Jazz on Record, p. 547.
- ^ "Expression". AllMusic. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
- ^ a b "The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording". AllMusic. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
- ^ a b c d e Searle, Chris (2001-12-08). "Final improvisational fire of a jazz colossus". The Morning Star. p. 11.
- ^ a b c d Beaudreau, James (2001-09-25). "The Olatunji Concert: the Last Live Recording". PopMatters. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
- ^ a b Marsh, Peter. "John Coltrane: The Olatunji Concert". BBC. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
- ^ "Arnaud Gérald" (in French). Africultures. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
- ^ Arnaud, Gérald (2002-01-01). "Coltrane face à l'Afrique". Africultures (in French). Retrieved 2008-03-11.
- ^ Jost, Free Jazz, p. 115.
- ^ Jost, Free Jazz, pp. 102–03.
- ^ Benston, Performing Blackness, p. 141-42.
- ^ Pressing, Jeff. "Free Jazz and the Avant-Garde" (PDF). University of Melbourne. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2003. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
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(help) - ^ Cole, John Coltrane, p. 195.
- ^ Heckman, Don (2003-09-22). "Catching Coltrane Live in His Quest". Los Angeles Times. p. F.69. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
- ^
"The His Greatest Years, Vol. 2: The Best of John Coltrane". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
- ^
"Spiritual (Impulse)". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
- ^
"The Impulse Story". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
- ^ Doggett, Jimi Hendrix, p. 113.
- ^
"Sacred Sources, Vol. 1: Live Forever". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
- ^ Norment, Lynn (August 1993). "Sounding Off". Ebony. p. 25.
- ^
"The Last Giant: Anthology". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
- ^ McLennan, Scott (2003-09-22). "Inspired performances evoke Coltrane". Telegram & Gazette. p. C5.
- ^ Young, Bob (2003-09-22). "Sanders and crew offer spirited Coltrane tribute". Boston Herald. p. 033.
References
- ISBN 978-0-415-00948-5.
- ISBN 978-0-306-81062-6.
- Doggett, Peter (2004). Jimi Hendrix: The Complete Guide to His Music. ISBN 978-1-84449-424-8.
- Jost, Ekkehard (1994). Free Jazz. ISBN 978-0-306-80556-1.
- ISBN 978-0-87930-755-4.
External links
- Ogunde: John Coltrane and Afro-Atlantic Mythopoesis, an article by Wu Ming 1 on the Yoruba origins of the song.