My Favorite Things (The Olatunji Concert: Last Live Recording) - John Coltrane (1967)

All the Coltrane I’ve heard in my life, how did I miss this one? Saying something is “deconstructed” is usually lazy and stupid, but it applies here. You can trace back shards of melody and interval to all the previous versions he’s done over the years, but they’re all smashed up and shrieking. An actual chunk of the head shows up for the first time 25 minutes into the 35 minute version. This was his second-to-last show ever, and features Jimmy Garrison (who starts the proceedings with his bass solo, as was the group’s wont during the period), Alice, Pharoah Sanders, and Rashied Ali leading a drum battery that likely has at least two more members.

This is amazing. Virtually all Coltrane is amazing, of course, but this is overpowering.