John Coltrane 9/23/26 - 7/17/67 - 85th Anniversary of his Birth

I have had a copy of this picture on a wall in my home for many years. Every now and then I pause to look at it and reflect on the life of John Coltrane and his wife Alice.

This week there are local celebrations of his music ‘Remembering John Coltrane.' His music remains alive forever - a legacy for us to enjoy.

John William Coltrane - Also known as "Trane"

Born September 23, 1926

Origin Hamlet, North Carolina

Occupations: Saxophonist, composer, bandleader

Instruments Tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone

Years active 1946–1967

Died July 17, 1967 (aged 40) Huntington, New York, United States

He wrote the following words about his album:

‘A LOVE SUPREME’

I will do all I can to be worthy of Thee O Lord.

It all has to do with it.

Thank you God.

Peace.

There is none other.

God is. It is so beautiful. Thank you God. God is all.

Help us to resolve our fears and weaknesses.

Thank you God.

In You all things are possible.

We know. God made us so.

Keep your eye on God.

God is. he always was. he always will be.

No Matter what . . . it is God.

He is gracious and merciful.

It is most important that I know Thee.

Words, sounds, speech, men, memory, thoughts,

fears and emotions—time—all related . . .

all made from one . . . all made in one.

Blessed be His name.

Thought waves—heat waves—all vibrations—

all paths lead to God. Thank you God.

His way . . . it is so lovely . . . it is gracious.

it is merciful — Thank you God.

One thought can produce millions of vibrations

and they all go back to God . . . everything does.

Thank you God.

Have no fear . . . believe . . . Thank you God.

The universe has many wonders. God is all.

His way . . . it is so wonderful.

Thoughts—deeds—vibrations, etc.

They all go back to God and He cleanses all.

He is gracious and merciful . . .

Thank you God.

Glory to God . . . God is so alive.

God is.

God loves.

May I be acceptable in thy sight.

We are all one in His grace.

The fact that we do exist is acknowledgement

of Thee O Lord.

Thank you God.

God will wash away all our tears . . .

He always has . . .

He always will.

Seek Him everyday. In all ways seek God everyday.

Let us sing all songs to God

To whom all praise is due . . . praise God.

No road is an easy one, but they all go back to God.

With all we share God.

It is all with god.

It is all with Thee.

Obey the Lord

Blessed is He.

We are all from one thing . . . the will of God . . .

thank you God

I have seen God—I have seen ungodly—

none can be greater—none can compare to God.

Thank you God.

He will remake us . . . He always has and he

always will.

It is true—blessed be His name—thank you God.

God breathes through us so completely . . .

so gently we hardly feel it . . . yet,

it is everything.

Thank you God.

ELATIONS—ELEGANCE—EXALTATION—

All from God.

Thank you God. Amen.

This spiritual side of John Coltrane is not mentioned very often. Thanks to him for the many, many hours of his music that I, and so many others, have listened to over my lifetime.

peacesojourner

Today is the 6th Queen City Jazz Fest - Buffalo New York

Today they held the 6^th Annual Queen City Jazz Fest outdoors in front of the Colored Musicians Jazz Club.

The event was free and open to all.

This is one of Buffalo's top events of the year.

There is no other place in the world like Buffalo's Colored Musicians Club.

In the 1930's, 40's, and 50's, all the great stars of jazz that came to town stopped in at the Colored Musicians Club to jam with their friends and local musicians. The club offers live jazz in an intimate setting, and some of the best jazz you can find anywhere. It is open to non-members who want to share a love of jazz, and are seeking a relaxing time in a friendly place.

The Buffalo Colored Musicians Club at 145 Broadway is as endearing a place as it is historically significant. The club holds memories of times past when it was nothing for jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Art Blakey, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne to be passing through.

Through the years the club fostered an environment where people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds could come together over a mutual love of the American phenomenon called jazz.

Before the Colored Musicians Club found its permanent home at 145 Broadway in 1934, it was housed in other locations. When the Colored Musicians Club moved into 145 Broadway it was merely a vacant storefront. The actual building had been constructed between 1880 and 1900 and it initially housed the shop of boot and shoemaker Charles Zifle, then Michael McNamara's cigar and tobacco stand, a billiards parlor, several union locals and Niagara China and Equipment Company. (Davis)

The Colored Musicians Club received its charter and became incorporated on May 14, 1935. At this point, the club utilized the space upstairs for practice, rehearsals, and performances while, downstairs, the union would hold its meetings.

In 1979, the Club was granted historic landmark status. In 1999, the Club was designated a historical preservation site. Today, the Colored Musicians Club is the only remaining African American club in the entire United States and, as such, it actively encourages historical research and preservation of the history of jazz in Buffalo

*****

Today - The weather was perfect and the music was outstanding.

Hundreds came out and enjoyed the good music and good company.

This is one of Buffalo's top events of the year and I am so glad that it happens just about one mile from my home. A big thank you to the organizers and the musicians. A perfect day!

peacesojourner

Happy Birthday to Dave Brubeck - 90 Today - A Class Act

I was first introduced to Dave Brubeck’s music many years ago when he appeared on stage in London. I was a teenager at the time and I became an instant fan. I have since heard him play at the Newport, Rhode Island Jazz Festival, Tanglewood Massachusetts Jazz Weekend, the Litchfield Connecticut Jazz Festival, the Montreal Canada Jazz Festival, and in Detroit, California, and Germany.

As I write this I am wondering just how many miles he has travelled in his lifetime. He has appeared in just about every country, state and province.

Born on December 6, 1920 Dave Brubeck grew up on a 45,000-acre ranch in California, the son of a music teacher and a cattle rancher.

He and his two older brothers studied piano with their mother, the future jazz pianist initially didn't take lessons for very long. He quit when he was 11 to focus on his first love: rodeo roping. But his mother, who thought he was talented at the piano, wouldn't allow him to rope anything larger than a yearling because she didn't want his fingers to become hurt.

Brubeck resumed studying the piano after his first year of college. During those college years he had a whirlwind courtship. He had promised his mother that he would go to at least one dance with a young lady. Since he didn’t have much interest in going, he got his friends to set him up with the smartest girl they could find. As Brubeck later reminisced, his reasoning was, “If I’ve got to go to this dance, I at least want it to be interesting.” They found a smart coed named Iola Whitlock who agreed to be Brubeck’s date.

You’d think a jazzman would be crazy about dancing, but Dave and Iola spent most of the evening chatting in his car. By the time the dance was over, the couple had decided to get engaged. He and Iola have been married since 1942 and have six children. She serves as his manager, lyricist, and occasional writing partner.

Brubeck met some of the musicians with whom he'd later make history while playing in the A.S. Army Band, which took him out of Patton's force during World War II.

He performed at the first Newport Jazz Festival in 1954 and later that year Dave Brubeck's band was selected as the year's best instrumental group. That same year he became the second jazz musician ever featured on the cover of Time Magazine (the first being Louie Armstrong).

Brubeck represented something else in jazz -- a studious, serious musician and family-oriented man; he moved to Connecticut in 1960 to raise his family. He was a player who avoided the clichés of drugs and dissipation often associated with jazz musicians.

Despite his lessons as a child, he couldn't read music. His biggest hit album, "Time Out," is dedicated to that proposition, and its biggest hit, "Take Five," took its name from its unusual 5/4 time signature.

After breaking up his quartet in the 1970’s, he not only let his hair grow but he expanded his ambitions, composing orchestral and choral works. Eventually he brought back the quartet sound as well, in a group that most recently included sax player Bobby Militello, bassist Michael Moore and drummer Randy Jones.

Last year he became a Kennedy Center Honoree and he was delighted at the sight of his four grown sons, Darius, Dan, Chris and Matthew, who played his music onstage at the award.

He continues to perform and compose, and has played more than 50 concerts this year alone.

Dave Brubeck, designated a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress, continues to be one of the most active and popular musicians in both the jazz and classical worlds. With a career that spans over six decades, his experiments in odd time signatures, improvised counterpoint, polyrhythm and polytonality remain hallmarks of innovation. He celebrates his 90th birthday today - TCM (Turner Classic Movies) has devoted the entire daytime schedule in celebration of his birthday.

Happy birthday Mr. Brubeck from a longtime fan and admirer.

You are a class act!

peacesojourner