In 1965, Trane recorded his first truly free jazz outing, Ascension. The piece is not all that dissimilar to Coleman's Free Jazz with ensemble interludes interspersed between intense, growling solos by musicians that include Freddie Hubbard, Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brwon, and John Tchicai in addition to Coltrane's usual quartet (Tyner, Garrison, and Jones). The album, which remains controversial to this day, did not repeat the success of A Love Supreme, despite the assertion of some, such as Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick, that it represented some sort of acid trip. More likely it represented some sort of God trip, as Trane's musical direction was tied up, more and more, with his spiritual obsessions. This is the time when the cult of John Coltrane kicked into high gear, and he began to be seen as more than a saxophonist. To many he was somehow a near-religious figure, a belief that Coltrane himself did little to encourage or discourage. The fact is that John Coltrane was very much a human being, and a conflicted one at that. He had strong spiritual interests, and used his music as one way to explore his psyche and the melding of Christianity and various Eastern philosophies, modality and polytonality, structured improvisation and total freedom. Ravi Shankar, with whom it was rumored that Coltrane would collaborate, said of him: "I was much disturbed by his music. Here was a creative person who had become a vegetarian, who was studying yoga and reading Bhagavad-Gita, yet in whose music I still hear much turmoil."

Shankar was not the only one who was "disturbed" by Trane's music. His jazz fans had no idea what to make of his musical direction, though the truth is that he'd shed fans with each new development since Giant Steps. He started working with new musicians, such as drummer Rashied Ali, who played alongside long-time quartet drummer Elvin Jones. Jones and Ali competed fiercely, and it is said that there were times when the other musicians, including Coltrane, could not be heard above the drummers. McCoy Tyner left the group, then Jones, and finally bassist Jimmy Garrison left during a tour of Japan.

In 1965 Coltrane had married his second wife, Alice McLeod, and she became the pianist in his group. Alice is one of the few harpists in jazz (John was obsessed by the sound of the harp, even watching Marx Brothers films in order to hear Harpo play), and she also developed a unique style on piano, organ, and a variety of classical Indian instruments. She continued to record following Coltrane's death, working with Rashied Ali, Pharoah Sanders, and other musicians who had played with John or been influence by his work. Several of her recordings, such as Ptah, the El-Daoud and Journey In Satchidananda are recognized as excellent works in their own right.

By 1966 most of the critics were saying that John Coltrane was now playing with a group of musicians that was inferior to his classic quartet. This may have been the case in as much as these musicians couldn't play hard bop the way Jones, Tyner, Garrison, and Coltrane himself could, but that was not the music that Coltrane was no playing. And even if it was the case, there are other instances of truly inspired musicians playing with a group that could not possibly have fully grasped what they were doing. This was true of Louis Armstrong's early Hot Fives recordings (before Earl Hines came along), and of many sessions on which Charlie Parker played with groups that were not his equal.

During late 1966 and into the spring of 1967, John Coltrane was physically and mentally exhausted, whether from critical abuse, his inner demons, or just the sheer act of creating so much music in so short a time. Alice urged him to see a doctor, and he was hospitalized briefly, but then checked himself out. By June he was once again hospitalized, and on June 17, 1967, John Coltrane passed away, leaving his music to speak for itself.

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