"[3] On June 16, the quartet visited Van Gelder Studios for a recording session which yielded "Vigil" and the two versions of "Dusk Dawn" which appear as bonus tracks on the CD reissue of Kulu Sé Mama.

"[3] Over the coming months, Coltrane's music continued to evolve at a rapid pace, and he recorded a slew of albums (Ascension, New Thing at Newport, Sun Ship, First Meditations (for quartet), Live in Seattle, Om).

By the time of the October 14 session at Western Recorders in Los Angeles, scheduled during an eleven day stint at the It Club, Coltrane had added tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and multi-instrumentalist Donald Rafael Garrett (both of whom had appeared on Live in Seattle and Om), as well as drummer Frank Butler and vocalist and percussionist Juno Lewis.

[3] He sang in "an Afro-Creole dialect he cites as Entobes"[3] and played "Juolulu, water drums, the Dome Dahka, and... bells and a conch shell.

Scott Yanow of AllMusic commented "Lewis' chanting and colorful percussion make this a unique if not essential entry in Coltrane's discography.

"[12] May also wrote: "Kulu Sé Mama is essential listening for anyone interested in the immediate pre-history of astral jazz.

"[13] In his album liner notes, Nat Hentoff described the title track as "an absorbing, almost trance-like fusion of tenderness and strength, memory and pride.

"[3] Hentoff concludes the notes by stating: "in Coltrane's view of man in the world, there are always further stages to work your way toward.