Conference Agenda

One hundred years after the birth of John Coltrane, this roundtable asks what his legacy signifies in the present and how it might orient the future. This panel takes a rare, nuanced, Africana studies-centered, ethnomusicological approach in convening tradition bearers, scholars, and practitioners across generations to discuss the meaning of his Centennial anniversary. Hour one will include a presentation by a leading contemporary tenor saxophonist who will reflect on how Coltrane shaped his current practice and the colossal, lasting impact on younger generations in the jazz saxophone lineage. Then a senior jazz tenor saxophonist and a Black music scholar will dialogue with a living legend/jazz elder who worked with Coltrane, exploring a firsthand perspective on his practice. To close the first hour, an Africana studies scholar will present his film “Speakn' Trane,” (20 minutes). The film is a visual conversation exploring the revolutionary spirit behind Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." Through themes of meditation, nature, and Black musical cosmologies, the film honors Coltrane's spiritual journey and his deep connection to Philadelphia, returning home to reclaim lost parts of himself, in the spirit of Sankofa. This conversation will engage Coltrane as a revered musician and cultural ancestor within the Black music continuum. During the second hour, the audience will be asked to engage with the presenters by asking questions that consider how his legacy asks musicians, artists, scholars, and communities to imagine more expansive futures, treating Coltrane’s legacy not as a monument but as an unfinished project into the next 100 years.