By late 1965, Coltrane was regularly augmenting his group with Sanders and other free jazz musicians.
Rashied Ali joined the group as a second drummer.
This was the end of the quartet.
Claiming he was unable to hear himself over the two drummers, Tyner left the band shortly after the recording of Meditations.
Jones left in early 1966, dissatisfied by sharing drumming duties with Ali.
After Coltrane's death, Tyner and Jones  in interviews expressed displeasure with the music's direction, while incorporating some of the free-jazz form's intensity in their solo work.

There is speculation that in 1965 Coltrane began using LSD, informing the "cosmic" transcendence of his late period.
After the departure of Tyner and Jones, Coltrane led a quintet with Sanders on tenor saxophone, his second wife Alice Coltrane on piano, Garrison on bass, and Ali on drums.
Coltrane and Sanders were described by Nat Hentoff as "speaking in tongues".
When touring, the group was known for playing long versions of their repertoire, many stretching beyond 30 minutes to an hour.
In concert, solos by band members often extended beyond fifteen minutes.

The group can be heard on several concert recordings from 1966, including Live at the Village Vanguard Again!
and Live in Japan.
In 1967, Coltrane entered the studio several times.
Although pieces with Sanders have surfaced (the unusual "To Be" has both men on flute), most of the recordings were either with the quartet minus Sanders (Expression and Stellar Regions) or as a duo with Ali.
The latter duo produced six performances that appear on the album Interstellar Space.
By late 1965, Coltrane was regularly augmenting his group with Sanders and other free jazz musicians. Rashied Ali joined the group as a second drummer. This was the end of the quartet. Claiming he was unable to hear himself over the two drummers, Tyner left the band shortly after the recording of Meditations. Jones left in early 1966, dissatisfied by sharing drumming duties with Ali. After Coltrane's death, Tyner and Jones  in interviews expressed displeasure with the music's direction, while incorporating some of the free-jazz form's intensity in their solo work.
There is speculation that in 1965 Coltrane began using LSD, informing the "cosmic" transcendence of his late period. After the departure of Tyner and Jones, Coltrane led a quintet with Sanders on tenor saxophone, his second wife Alice Coltrane on piano, Garrison on bass, and Ali on drums. Coltrane and Sanders were described by Nat Hentoff as "speaking in tongues". When touring, the group was known for playing long versions of their repertoire, many stretching beyond 30 minutes to an hour. In concert, solos by band members often extended beyond fifteen minutes.
The group can be heard on several concert recordings from 1966, including Live at the Village Vanguard Again! and Live in Japan. In 1967, Coltrane entered the studio several times. Although pieces with Sanders have surfaced (the unusual "To Be" has both men on flute), most of the recordings were either with the quartet minus Sanders (Expression and Stellar Regions) or as a duo with Ali. The latter duo produced six performances that appear on the album Interstellar Space.
John Coltrane