2017 repress on 180 gram vinyl from DOL.

John Coltrane was one of the most revolutionary musicians in jazz history. In much the same way that Charlie Parker became a dominant influence during the bebop era, there was a time during the 1960 s when nearly every tenor sax player tried to imitate Coltrane’s sound (something that still occurs today). Olé Coltrane was Coltrane’s ninth LP as a leader and the last made for Atlantic under his supervision. Two days prior to the recording of Olé Coltrane, the saxophonist did his inaugural recording session for his new label, Impulse Records, at the new Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. With one further album due his old label Atlantic, he brought in his working quintet along with two participants in the Africa/Brass sessions, Art Davis and Freddie Hubbard.

Owing to his concurrent contract with Prestige Records, Eric Dolphy had to be listed on the credits under the pseudonym George Lane. Co ltrane’s interest in the music of Spain, evident in the title track, may have been spurred by his ex-employer Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain from the previous year. The soprano saxophone work on the modal jazz vamp “Olé” recalled the previous year’s “My Favorite Things”, while the titles for the songs “Aisha” and “Dahomey Dance” reflect the band’s continued interest in African forms as expressed on the May 23 Africa/Brass recordings.