[11] In May 1967, Coltrane, who had been suffering from liver cancer since mid-1966,[12] and who had canceled a number of concerts that month,[13] "spent days stretched out on a couch, listening back to his recent recording sessions.

"[14] On July 14, three days before his death, Coltrane met with producer Bob Thiele to finish plans for the album, and suggested the title Expression.

"[17] Ashley Kahn wrote that "Expression serves as (Coltrane's) memorial album on the Impulse label, the thick black border on its cover lending it a sense of bereavement.

"[18] AllMusic reviewer Fred Thomas described Expression as "a varied and searching record",[19] and states that the band "was performing in the most spiritually reaching territory Coltrane would aspire to.

Even in what must have been a time of tremendous pain and darkness, Coltrane's single-minded quest for understanding and transcendence took him to places of new exploration and light.