Origins and Composition
"Ogunde" is the opening track on Expression, Coltrane's final studio album, recorded on February 15 and March 7, 1967. At 3:36 minutes, it is the shortest song on the album. A "marathon version" of the song that lasted for more than 28 minutes, sung on April 23, 1967 during a concert – Coltrane's last recorded live performance – in the Olatunji Center for African Culture in Harlem, was released in 2001 on The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording.
The original release of "Ogunde" features Coltrane on tenor, Rashied Ali on drums, Alice Coltrane on piano, and Jimmy Garrison on bass. The Olatunji Concert release also features percussionists Juma Santos and Algie de Witt and saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders, who makes a single appearance in Expression on "To Be", on piccolo flute.
According to David Wild's liner notes, the song is based on "Ogunde Varere", an Afro-Brazilian folk song whose title translates to 'Prayer of the Gods'. Independent journalist and author Gérald Arnaud further noted that "Ogunde" is dedicated to the Orisha Ogun, the god of iron and of metal in the Yoruba religious tradition. Meanwhile, Chris Searle of The Morning Star contended that the song "re-emphasises Coltrane's amalgam of spiritual passion within the huge sound of his solidarity with the African people".
Read more about this topic: Ogunde (song)
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