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Flotation Device celebrates The John Coltrane Centenary with an all-vinyl show hosted by John Seman, touching on 1965–67, including Coltrane’s final studio dates in Spring 1967 featuring Alice Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders and Rashied Ali—with Trane playing bass clarinet, flute, and alto saxophone in addition to his usual tenor and soprano—plus some of the last live and studio sessions of the Classic Quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones with a focus on their stop in Seattle 61 years ago this month. We also revisit some early posthumous releases, the magnum opus Ascension by the John Coltrane Orchestra, and Coltrane's trip to Japan in July 1966, as well as tribute poems from Joe McPhee, and Amiri Baraka with David Murray and Steve McCall. Peace On Earth!
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Flotation Device 2026-09-20: Annotated playlist by host John Seman - PART ONE:
Coltrane 100/John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926–July 17, 1967)
1. [0:00] Intro and SET 1: 1966–67 Sessions - The Rubato Ballad
2. [0:08] John Coltrane: Reverend King. From Cosmic Music (Coltrane/Impulse!, 1968) with John Coltrane (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet), Pharoah Sanders (tenor saxophone), Alice Coltrane (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Rashied Ali (drums), Ray Appleton (percussion). NOTE: First studio session with Alice Coltrane. John Coltrane playing Eric Dolphy’s bass clarinet
3. [10:58] John Coltrane: Iris. From Stellar Regions (Impulse!, 1995) with John Coltrane (tenor saxophone), Alice Coltrane (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Rashied Ali (drums). NOTE: Recorded February 15, 1967
4. [14:46] Amiri Baraka: I Love Music. From New Poetry - New Music (Sundazed, 2026) with Amiri Baraka (poem), David Murray (tenor saxophone), Steve McCall (drums). NOTE: Recorded 1982
5. [17:23] John Coltrane & Rashied Ali: Venus. From Interstellar Space (Impulse!, 1974) with John Coltrane (tenor saxophone, bells), Rashied Ali (drums)
SET 2: The John Coltrane Quartet, for ever and ever Amen (with Alice Coltrane: Something about John Coltrane) [25:39]
1. [27:49] John Coltrane Quartet: Amen. From Sun Ship (Impulse!, 1971) with John Coltrane (tenor saxophone), McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Elvin Jones (drums). NOTE: Penultimate studio session of classic Coltrane Quartet. Final known session issued 1977 as First Meditations for Quartet
2. [36:07] John Coltrane Sextet: Love. From Meditations (Impulse!, 1966) with John Coltrane (tenor saxophone), Pharoah Sanders (tenor saxophone), McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Elvin Jones (drums), Rashied Ali (drums). NOTE: Final session with Tyner and Jones. Meditations and Kulu Se Mama were the final albums released in Coltrane’s lifetime
3. [44:20] John Coltrane: Living Space. From Infinity (Impulse!, 1972) with John Coltrane (soprano saxophone), McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Elvin Jones (drums), Alice Coltrane (harp overdub), Joan Chapman (tamboura overdub), Oran Coltrane (bells overdub). NOTE: 1965 quartet session with overdubs recorded 1972 at The Village Recorder, Los Angeles
Flotation Device 2026-09-20: Annotated playlist by host John Seman - PART TWO:
SET 3: Expression - Ascension (with Albert Ayler: For John Coltrane) [54:45]
1. [56:05] John Coltrane: To Be. From Expression (Impulse!, 1967) with John Coltrane (flute), Pharoah Sanders (flute, piccolo, tambourine), Alice Coltrane (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Rashied Ali (drums). NOTE: Final completed album and first posthumous Coltrane release. John Coltrane playing Eric Dolphy’s flute
2. [1:12:30] Joe McPhee: Tell Me How Long Has Trane Been Gone (for John Coltrane and James Baldwin). From Musings of a Bahamian Son: Poems and Other Words (Corbett vs. Dempsey, 2024) with Joe McPhee (poem). NOTE: Recorded October 15, 2021 at Experimental Sound Studio, Chicago
3. [1:14:49] John Coltrane Orchestra: Ascension, Part II. From Ascension (Impulse!, 1966) with John Coltrane (tenor saxophone), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Dewey Johnson (trumpet), Marion Brown, John Tchicai (alto saxophones), Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp (tenor saxophones), McCoy Tyner (piano), Art Davis, Jimmy Garrison (basses), Elvin Jones (drums). NOTE: Soloists heard here are Tchicai, Shepp, Brown, Tyner, Davis and Garrison
SET 4: Coltrane in Seattle (with Art Ensemble of Chicago: Ohnedaruth) [1:36:25]
1. [1:38:29] John Coltrane: OM, Part I. From OM (Impulse!, 1968) with John Coltrane (tenor and soprano saxophone), Pharoah Sanders (tenor saxophone), Joe Brazil (flute), Donald Rafael Garrett (clarinet, double bass), McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Elvin Jones (drums). NOTE: Recorded October 1, 1965 by Jan Kurtis Skugstad at Camelot Records, Lynnwood, WA
2. [1:53:20] John Coltrane featuring Pharaoh Sanders: Evolution (Part One) [excerpt]. From Live in Seattle (Impulse!, 1971) with John Coltrane (tenor and soprano saxophone), Pharoah Sanders (tenor saxophone), Donald Rafael Garrett (bass and clarinet), McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Elvin Jones (drums), Jan Kurtis Skugstad (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded September 30, 1965 at The Penthouse, Seattle
3. [2:03:14] John Coltrane: A Love Supreme, Part IV: Psalm. From A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle (Impulse!, 2021) with John Coltrane (tenor saxophone, percussion), Pharoah Sanders (tenor saxophone, percussion), McCoy Tyner (piano), Donald Rafael Garrett (bass), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Elvin Jones (drums). NOTE: Recorded October 2, 1965 by Joe Brazil at The Penthouse, Seattle
SET 5: Coltrane in Japan (with Nels Cline and Gregg Bendian: Venus) [2:09:26]
1. [2:10:17] John Coltrane: Peace On Earth. From Concert in Japan (Impulse!/ABC, 1973) with John Coltrane (alto saxophone), Pharoah Sanders (alto saxophone), Alice Coltrane (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Rashied Ali (drums). NOTE: Recorded live July 22, 1966 at Kosei Nenkin Hall, Tokyo
Photo credits: John Coltrane Quartet (Jones, Tyner, Coltrane, Garrison) by Aftonbladet, John Coltrane: Stellar Regions by John Seman, John Coltrane by Lee Friedlander, John and Alice Coltrane at Van Gelder Studio by Chuck Stewart.
Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with hosts Michael Schell and John Seman, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://linktr.ee/MichaelSchell