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To Honor a Legend: The John Coltrane Legacy in Philadelphia
By Vic Schermer
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What does John Coltrane have to do with Philadelphia music? The answer is: “not less than everything.” “Trane,” as he has been affectionately called, came up in Philadelphia, where he studied theory with the legendary Dennis Sandole, performed with then up and coming local musicians Benny Golson, Trudy Pitts, McCoy Tyner, and many others, and was first inspired by hearing the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker at the Academy of Music. So it is appropriate that Philadelphia honor Coltrane’s 80th Birthday through the music itself, which was his passion, and which he pursued to its outer limits.

In the short span of about ten years, prior to his untimely death in 1967, Trane changed the face of jazz, and his influence is continually felt to this day. It has been said that he was the most influential musician in modern jazz, not only in terms of his own technique, innovation, and self-expression but also his soul-searching attitude, which has served as a role model for so many musicians. As saxophonist Dave Liebman says, “Besides specific technical aspects, Trane’s influence forms the basis of everything I have done musically, the reason I play at all, the meaning of music beyond the obvious, the possibility that music can raise consciousness and improve human kind.” Many others, including the pop star Santana, have echoed these sentiments.

If you go to any night club, concert hall, or festival venue in the Philadelphia area, you will hear and feel the Coltrane influence. The jazz artists who perform regularly at local clubs such as Chris’ Jazz Café, Zanzibar Blue, Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus, and Tritone—among them, pianists Tom Lawton and Jim Ridl, trumpeter John Swana, saxophonists Bootsie Barnes, Ralph Bowen, Larry McKenna, and Ben Schachter, clarinetist Norman David, drummers Tony Deangelis and Jim Miller, and big band leader Bobby Zankel—will tell you how much Coltrane meant to their musical evolution. Lawton says, “For me, it was actually listening to Coltrane’s song Brazilia on the radio that connected me to jazz forever. It was the harmonies and the rhythmic intensity. The best example of Coltrane is to stay true to yourself and bring that kind of intensity and integrity to your work.” According to Ridl, “Coltrane continues to inspire me. Lately I’ve composed a few things that have that Coltrane-like chant inside of them: simple melodies with an open field for improvisational exploration. This form and model for composition and improvisation is ancient and at the same time fresh.” Bobby Zankel: “John Coltrane represents the potential for beauty, compassion, and positive action—so you jump out of bed and start practicing or maybe first listen to Bakai or Moment’s Notice, or Vigil, or Chasin’ the Trane. I have spent countless joyful inspired hours playing along with Trane’s records, trying to absorb all of the different aspects that define his playing.”

In Philadelphia, the Coltrane legacy has been passed down not only through recordings, but through Philly musicians who were early on exposed to him in person and sometimes performed with him. Tyner (pianist in the celebrated John Coltrane Quartet), Liebman, Golson, drummer Mickey Roker, saxophonists Bayard Lancaster and Odean Pope, vibraphonist Khan Jamal, guitarist Pat Martino, and organist Trudy Pitts have all had a direct personal impact on today’s players of Philly Jazz. Their own musical debt to Trane is immeasurable. According to Martino, the legendary guitarist of international fame who resides in South Philadelphia and performs and teaches locally when time permits, “John Coltrane influenced my intuitive insight far greater than merely its application to the craft of musicianship.

To me Coltrane was a prophet as well as a musician. Along with spending precious moments at a very early age talking with Trane, being absorbed in works like Giant Steps, A Love Supreme, Ascension, and First Meditations literally amplified my interest in a study of Love itself.” In Philadelphia, there is a constant passing of Trane’s torch to each new generation of musicians.

Adding to this glorious mix, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts held a critically acclaimed tribute (during September 2004 to May 2005), “Take the Col’Train,” emphasizing Coltrane’s impact on Latin jazz from Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, and Panama, under the aegis of pianist Danilo Perez. The May concert featured an appearance by Coltrane’s son, Ravi, an outstanding saxophonist in his own right. Many of Ravi’s Philadelphia friends came out to hear him, lending a very personal note to this outstanding set of concerts featuring top musicians from around the world, such as Perez, trumpeters Claudio Roditi and Bryan Lynch, and trombonist Conrad Herwig.

On the occasion of Trane’s 80th Birthday (he was born on September 23, 1926), this ongoing testimony to Coltrane is complemented by special occasions and festivals. International House and Ars Nova Workshop, under the sponsorship of The Philadelphia Music Project, are featuring a five concert series called “Seraphic Light.” An eclectic mix of established traditions and new musical ideas, the series includes The Philadelphia Four, with bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Rashied Ali, both of whom performed extensively with Trane; a night with the inimitable pianist, Cecil Taylor, one of the most innovative musicians in the business; and groups such as Spiritual Unity, The David S. Ware Unit, and Rova Orkestra=Electric Ascension, with the latter performing Coltrane’s monumental work, Ascension. Series impresario Mark Christman says: “John Coltrane embodies the rigorous experimentalism that we find most engaging in music, particularly his late period which broke every boundary imaginable. He was clearly an improviser in search of answers, and we can only hope that today’s progressive music continues to defy convention and educate.”

In September, the Tranestop Resource Institute sponsored a two day celebratory event entitled “Tranestop: Giant Steps over Philly,” held at the Awbury Arboretum and nearby locations, featuring such luminaries as Archie Shepp, Stanley Cowell, James Spaulding, Jymie Merritt, Allen Nelson, Sumi Tonooka, Stanley Wilson, Sid Simmons, Robin and Duane Eubanks, Billy Paul, and the Dixie Hummingbirds. The power of Coltrane’s contemporary importance is reflected in the fact that all of the musicians participating in these Coltrane festivals are doing so because of their debt of gratitude for Coltrane’s many-faceted contributions to their own musical lexicons.

No discussion of Coltrane’s influence on Philadelphia music would be complete without a tribute to his beloved cousin, Mary Alexander, who grew up with him in North Philadelphia. Mary was present at the inception, and John composed the song Cousin Mary in her honor. In recent years, she initiated the designation of John’s home as a national historic site, co-founded the John W. Coltrane Cultural Society, and has been a felt presence in Philly jazz circles, encouraging the musicians and participating as facilitator and mentor at numerous jazz festivals in the Delaware Valley. It could honestly be said that Coltrane lives on in Mary, his son Ravi, his wife Alice, and all his family members as well as in so much of the music we hear, even in the very air we breathe.

Vic Schermer is a contributing editor for the All About Jazz website. He lives and works in Philadelphia.