Olatunji won a following among jazz musicians, notably creating a strong relationship with John Coltrane, with whose help he founded the Olatunji Center for African Culture in Harlem. This was the site of Coltrane's final recorded performance. Coltrane wrote the composition "Tunji" on the 1962 album "Coltrane" in dedication to him. Olatunji recorded with many other prominent musicians (often credited as "Michael Olatunji"), including Cannonball Adderley (on his 1961 "African Waltz" album), Horace Silver, Quincy Jones, Pee Wee Ellis, Stevie Wonder, Randy Weston, and with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln on the pivotal "Freedom Now Suite" aka "We Insist!", and with Grateful Dead member Mickey Hart on his Grammy winning "Planet Drum" projects. He is also mentioned in the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Free" as recorded on the album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan".