Philadelphia Jazz Project to celebrate John Coltrane’s 90 birthday with free events

Next month, music fans around the world will be celebrating what would have been jazz legend John Coltrane’s 90th birthday on September 23rd. While Coltrane wasn’t born here, he moved to Philadelphia in 1943 after he graduated from high school, and lived in North Philly until he moved to New York in 1958. Philadelphia Jazz Project, along with WRTI, will be celebrating Coltrane’s music and significance over a nine day period from September 17th-26th with a series of free events including film screenings, media presentations, concerts, exhibitions and other special events.

Some of the highlights with include:

▪ A 6 hour saxophone marathon presenting national, regional & local saxophonists
▪ An outdoor “walk” with 3 stages of live music
▪ A Jam Supreme with a Jazz-meets-House/Techno interpretation of Coltrane classics
▪ An Afro-Cuban influenced interpretation of Coltrane’s “Kulu Se Mama”
▪ A special Equinox concert on very night of the Equinox

More info on all the events is available from Philadelphia Jazz Project here.

Below, sample a couple of classics from Coltrane’s incredible body of work, including a live performance of Coltrane with Miles Davis on “So What.”