"Ogunde" is the opening track on jazz saxophonist John Coltrane's 1967 album Expression, and one of two songs on The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording.
[2] The Olatunji Concert release also features percussionists Juma Santos and Algie de Witt[7] and saxophonist Pharoah Sanders,[4] who makes a single appearance in Expression on "To Be",[2] on piccolo flute.
[5] Independent journalist and author[8] Gérald Arnaud further noted that "Ogunde" is dedicated to the Orisha Ogun, the god of iron and of metal in the Yoruba religious tradition.
[9] Meanwhile, Chris Searle of The Morning Star contended that the song "re-emphasises Coltrane's amalgam of spiritual passion within the huge sound of his solidarity with the African people".
[13] PopMatters reviewer James Beaudreau further notes that Coltrane's performance in "Ogunde" reflects the personal style that he evolved prior to his death: "ecstatic, brightly focused, and with a kaleidoscopic vibrato".
His last phrase sounds electrified—something like Jimi Hendrix might have played, but with a depth of the darkest blue and technique that in earlier times might have been thought diabolical.