John Coltrane's Ogunde

Loosely based on the Afro-Brazilian Candomble song, Ogunde Arere, one can see the influence of Babatunde Olatunji on Coltrane was larger than one thought. Though the recording that probably inspired John Coltrane's recording of the this sacred song for his Expression album is a Brazilian opera singer's rendition of it in the 1940s, Coltrane had Olatunji (himself a Yoruba, the culture that exported the worship of the orisha/lwa Ogou/Ogun/Ogunde in Brazil, Haiti, Trinidad, and Cuba. Olatunji could've provided Coltrane with the history and sacredness of this ancient Yoruba religious chant that has survived centuries of slavery and creolization to surface in Haiti, Cuba, and Brazil despite the huge diversity in the slaves that arrived to each of the aforementioned nations.

We already know that Olatunji played a significant role in Coltrane's discovery and use of African, Asian, and Afro-Latin music within his own compositions due to the titles of some of Coltrane's 1960s work, such as Africa/Brass, and through the friendship that existed between the two men. It is known that Olatunji, who was one of the earliest artists to record 'authentic' world music in the United States (his Drums of Passion LP was recorded in 1959, I believe) and was a percussionist and singer who willingly shared his music with jazz musicians and befriended African-Americans in Harlem, where he started an African Cultural Center for African-American youth to learn something about African cultures. Indeed, Coltrane's final live concert was at Olatunji's African Cultural Center in Harlem, where Coltrane played a 28-minute version of Ogunde that tests the listeners ability to withstand dissonance (free jazz is often atonal, and Pharaoh Sanders and the other musicians on the stand take lengthy solos). Thus, is it a coincidence that Coltrane would perform an Afro-Brazilian religious song of Nigerian origin at a Nigerian of Yoruba descent's community center? Obviously Olatunji had encouraged Coltrane's interest in African-derived music and through their long friendship, probably provided the African music that inspired Africa/Brass and other 'spiritual' works of Coltrane, such as A Love Supreme. By the way, Olatunji was also a friend of Nina Simone, to whom he introduced the Yoruba song, Zungo. Nina Simone would perform in live at a show at The Village Gate in New York City in the early 1960s. This website does a great job explaining the origin of Ogunde and its connection to Coltrane's spiritual awakening that saved him from a heroin overdose:
http://www.wumingfoundation.com/english/wumingblog/?p=1293

Nina Simone, Zungo

Babatunde Olatunji, Zungo

Earliest recording of Ogunde, featuring a Brazilian opera singer accompanied by piano, arranged by a Brazilian classical composer. Bidu Sayao, the singer, shows off her classical-training, which doesn't really match this dark, African song of the Brazilian slaves and their descendants. However, it is of great import for showing how it influenced John Coltrane's 2 recordings of Ogunde.

Ogun, or Ogou, is also widely venerated in Haiti, as well as Nigeria, Benin, and Brazil. Here is a song for Ogou, the lwa/orisha of war and iron, that I believe bears a resemblance to the Brazilian rendition above.

Os Tincoas, a Brazilian group, also performed Ogunde. As a Brazilian pop group, their rendition is not exactly authentic Candomble music, but interesting nonetheless.

Here are some other Ogun songs which likely share the same origin as Yoruba chants to the orisha dating back several centuries. They are chants which feature drumming and nothing else.

http://grooveshark.com/#/s/Song+For+Ogun/2OmHPw?src=5 A Song for Ogou chant from the Library of Congress Recordings
http://grooveshark.com/#/s/Track+02+Ogun/1OCbaO?src=5 Iroko's performance of Ogun

John Coltrane's recording of Ogunde for his posthumous studio album, Expression, is short (only a little over 3 minutes) but retains the ominous atmosphere of the Brazilian recording from the opera singer and her classical arrangement. It almost sounds "Eastern" despite the obvious African origin.

John Coltrane played Ogunde again in an epic 28 minute version for his final live album. Have fun, despite the inferior recording material used at the show, which makes it difficult to make out the other percussion added to highlight the African feeling of Ogunde.

http://grooveshark.com/s/Ogunde/3sbDDS?src=5 grooveshark link to the song in its entirety