Reception

On the whole, "Ogunde" was well-received by critics. Discussing Coltrane's music in the months prior to his death in July 1967, jazz musician and educator Bill Cole

Bill Cole

William Shadrack Cole is an American jazz musician and educator. Cole, most unusually for his genre, specializes in non-Western wind instruments, including the Ghanaian atenteben, Chinese suona, Korean hojok and piri, South Indian nagaswaram, North Indian shehnai, Tibetan trumpet, and Australian...

 noted that although Coltrane's "recording output during 1967 ... was sparse," the "quality and strength, especially on his piece 'Ogunde', show no detrimental effects from his illness." Jazz commentator Scott Yanow

Scott Yanow

Scott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...

 praised The Olatunji Concert for its "unremittingly intense music", but called it "largely unlistenable except by true fanatics" due to poor recording quality, stating that the recording "should have remained legendary and unissued".

BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 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".

Many reviews of "Ogunde" give special attention to Sanders' performance in the extended version of the song. Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

praised Sanders' performance, asserting that "Sanders is at his very best on 'Ogunde'".
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".

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

MCA Records

MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...

, 1990

1990 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze...

),
Spiritual (Impulse!

Impulse! Records

Impulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...

, 2001

2001 in music

See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....

),
and The Impulse Story (Impulse!, 2006

2006 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....

).
The song is also featured in Sacred Sources, Vol. 1: Live Forever, a compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 released in 1994

1994 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so....

 by Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana

Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...

's record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 Guts & Grace that features recordings from the final performances of famous artists.
A short excerpt of "Ogunde" also appears on The Last Giant: Anthology

The Last Giant: Anthology

The Last Giant: Anthology is an album by jazz musician John Coltrane. This 2-CD set compiles recordings spanning the years 1946–1967, and was released by Rhino Records in 1993.-Track listing:All tracks by John Coltrane, except where noted.Disc one...

, a 1993

1993 in music

This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....

 release by Rhino Records.

Album	| Released	| Label Record label In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...	| Length
His Greatest Years, Vol. 2: The Best of John Coltrane	1990 1990 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze...	MCA Records MCA Records MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...	3:40
The Last Giant: Anthology The Last Giant: Anthology The Last Giant: Anthology is an album by jazz musician John Coltrane. This 2-CD set compiles recordings spanning the years 1946–1967, and was released by Rhino Records in 1993.-Track listing:All tracks by John Coltrane, except where noted.Disc one...	1993 1993 in music This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....	Rhino Records	1:30
Sacred Sources, Vol. 1: Live Forever	1994 1994 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so....	Guts & Grace	5:27
Spiritual	2001 2001 in music See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....	Impulse! Records Impulse! Records Impulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...	3:38
The Impulse Story	2006 2006 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....	Impulse! Records Impulse! Records Impulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...	3:36

"Ogunde" was one of fifteen compositions performed in 2003 at Mechanics Hall

Mechanics Hall, Worcester

Mechanics Hall is a Concert Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts. It was built in 1857 in the Renaissance Revival style and restored in 1977. Built as part of the early nineteenth-century worker's improvement movement, it is now a concert and performing arts venue ranked as one of the top four...

 in Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....

 for the 26th Annual John Coltrane Memorial Concert.

External Links

Ogunde: John Coltrane and Afro-Atlantic Mythopoesis, an article by Wu Ming 1

Wu Ming

Wu Ming is a pseudonym for a group of Italian authors formed in 2000 from a subset of the Luther Blissett community in Bologna.In their pre-Wu Ming days, the group wrote the novel Q ....

on the Yoruba origins of the song.