John Coltrane

"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. Coltrane’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 on side two reflect the band’s continued interest in African forms as expressed on the May 23 "Africa/Brass" recordings.