JOHN COLTRANE Offering - Live At Temple University Vinyl:

The long awaited first 'official' release of the legendary and much bootlegged late 1966 Temple University concert is a major, major event. First time from the single microphone mono master tapes, mastered by Bernie Grundman. Although Coltrane lived less than another year after the Temple concert and made a handful of live appearances, for all intents this is the last true concert Coltrane gave before illness started to overtake him. That alone would make the Temple recordings legendary, but even more, this is the sole document of what Coltrane's performances in the late period were truly like. For sure, his late period quintet with (an unusually restrained) Phraoah Sanders is well documented, but as was his performance practice at the time, there is an ad-hoc cast of supporting players, some unknown locals, added, and Coltrane himself is clearly reaching for a higher level at Temple.

The sound is problematic yet magnificent. Only the horns are captured full-on by the single mic, but that is interesting of itself - Coltrane himself sounds incredibly present. Alice Coltrane is also well captured if somewhat distant, only the bass and drums are further back and somewhat less defined. But it is about the music, which is absolutely hypnotic and very special. Sonic considerations fall apart when faced with music as powerful as this.If you are looking for audiophile sonics, look elsewhere, music like this isn't for you anyways.

This is not free jazz, it is too highly structured. If a label must be placed, let's call it 'post-avant garde'. That comes closest. It is a roar and a sonic wall from start to finish, but the eye of the storm is acutely melodic and spiritual, almost a gospel revival and thi is no more evident than on the reworking of My Favorite Things. This was the typical 'crowd pleaser' Coltrane often ended sets with, and the version at Temple is a  remarkable revelation that embodies everything that went before and everything Coltrane represented in the final months of his life.

Coltrane delivers a smoking hot solo, then passes to Steve Knoblauch on alto, who picks up right where Coltrane left and delivers a solo that must be the greatest of his life. This is what Coltrane did late in his career - picked up young local players and let them blow, and putting them in the cauldron that was the late period Coltrane band made faceless players rise and step outside themselves to reach a higher level - Knoblauch does it here big time. At a mid way point, Coltrane exhausts his horn and starts to sing - chant, more accurately, beating his chest as he does. The bata drum chorus behind swings and shimmys and brings an ethereal, world music drum chant to transform the tune into a spiritual revival.

Despite never having been released until now, Temple University has cast a long shadow on players for almost 50 years. It is quite possibly - likely - the single greatest concert performance Coltrane ever did, and is unique in the Coltrane discography as the only representation (outside the later Olatunje recording, which truly is unlistenable) of late period Coltrane performance practice. It is a scorcher of a performance, from an artist that can never be equalled. It is essential.