Olé Coltrane is a studio album by thejazz musician and composerJohn Coltrane. It was released in November 1961 throughAtlantic Records.[1][2] The album was recorded atA&R Studios in New York, and was the last of Coltrane's Atlantic albums to be made under his own supervision.
Coltrane's interest in themusic of Spain evident in "Olé", may have been spurred by his ex-employerMiles Davis'sSketches of Spain from the previous year.[5] The structure and melody of themodal jazz vamp "Olé" was borrowed from the Spanish folk song "El Vito" (later used as the tune of "El Quinto Regimiento" from the Spanish Civil War, which was made known byPete Seeger), while thesoprano saxophone work recalled 1961's "My Favorite Things".
The titles for the songs on side two reflect the band's continued interest inAfrican forms as expressed on the May 23Africa/Brass recordings.McCoy Tyner commented: "On 'Dahomey Dance' [Coltrane] had a record of these guys who were from Dahomey, which is why he used two bassists. He showed that rhythm to Art Davis and Reggie Workman. So the influence was there."[6] Tyner's "Aisha," a ballad, was named after the pianist's then-wife.[7]
In a review forAllMusic, Lindsay Planer wrote: "The complicated rhythm patterns and diverse sonic textures onOlé Coltrane are evidence that John Coltrane was once again charting his own course. His sheer ability as a maverick -- beyond his appreciable musical skills -- guides works such as this to new levels, ultimately advancing the entire art form."[8]
The authors ofThe Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album 3 stars, noting that the presence of Hubbard "helped expand the timbral range, pointing to the new, more orchestrated sound Coltrane was interested in developing at the time," but cautioned: "interesting as it is episodically,Olé never quite holds the attention."[10]
Writing forAll About Jazz, John Ballon commented: "A transitional record,Olé Coltrane successfully navigates the line between Trane's sonically challenging later years and his earlier accessibility. A magnificent milestone in Trane's artistic growth, this is an essential recording for any collection."[12]
In an article for Treble Zine, Jeff Terich stated: "You can point to any moment of Coltrane's playing onOlé and it would pretty much seal up why this hovers among the highest tier of the best John Coltrane albums. But it's how the entire ensemble works in harmony to create a stunning whole that this belongs not just in the ranks of the best John Coltrane albums, but jazz’s greatest albums as well."[13]
Recording engineerPhil Ramone recalled that the recording session taught him a great deal about "how to condense a musical thought without diluting its coherence or artistic intention," and acknowledged that Coltrane's ability to self-edit affected the way he shaped other records with which he was involved.[14]
Olé has also been performed and recorded byNoah Howard on his live albumsLive In Europe, Vol. 1 (1975) andBerlin Concert (1977) and by Coltrane's later sidemanPharoah Sanders, on his live albumHeart Is a Melody from 1982.
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