John Coltrane's Dix Hills Home is Jazz Treasure July
27, 2007 - John
Coltrane's house in Dix Hills is set to undergo
a fabulous makeover. With the help of Steve Fulgoni,
director of the Friends of the Coltrane Home,
and a group of local volunteers, the house of
the legendary saxophonist-composer is awaiting
a decision by the National Register of Historic
Places to include it, thus becoming a historic
showplace. This is the place where Coltrane dreamt
of settling down with his family.
Alice
Coltrane, who died at age 69 in January, told
Newsday in 2004 that the house provided her
husband with "the time and the space to
be able to simply give himself totally to composing
his music." One can still feel his presence
within the walls of this decaying structure,
especially in one of the rooms where he spent
a lot of time, which is completely soundproof.
The
house, a four-bedroom ranch style house, is
located on Candlewood Path in the town of Huntington,
NY. One of the town's most famous landmarks,
the house has been placed on the New York Register
of Historic Places, and hopefully will be placed
on the National Register of Historic Places.
The
house needs a lot of work. Grants and donations
have been pouring in. "This is not only
a local or a national, but an international
effort," says Huntington town historian
Robert Hughes. "We even got a $250 contribution
from someone in Japan."
Ultimately,
what many in Huntington envision for the house
is a permanent John Coltrane museum much in
the manner of Louis Armstrong's Corona home.
(In comparison, it took 13 years to restore
and open the Louis Armstrong House & Archives.)
The
house, even in its uninhabitable state, is already
attracting visitors from all over the world. "We
want to restore the house to the way it was and
also provide educational programs for students.
Some of these can take place at the house, but
we also want to reach out to local schools and
artists from all over to come to Dix Hills to
learn about and be inspired by John Coltrane."
Fulgoni says. By Francesca
Samuel
Rare
Monk/Coltrane Recording to be Released in
September August
3, 2005 - A preciously unreleased recording
featuring Thelonius
Monk and John
Coltrane was found in January by jazz
specialist Larry Appelbaum at the Library
of Congress. Bluenote records will release
the outing recorded during a 1957 concert
on September 27th, 2005. The recording is
made special by the fact that Monk and Coltrane
only played together for a total of approximately
6 months. -
by Cheryl
Philips
High
Point Museum Grabs John Coltrane's Piano
May 31, 2005 - Following the successful completion
of their 88 Keys for Coltrane campaign, High
Point Museum in High Point, North Carolina,
has raised enough funds to purchase John
Coltrane's piano from a New York City
auction house. The piano, which should be
on display at the museum by July, was played
by Coltrane and his family members at their
home in High Point and traveled with him to
Philadelphia when he moved there from North
Carolina. When Coltrane died a family member
donated the piano to the auction house. John
Coltrane moved to High Point in his infancy
and was raised there, graduating from William
Penn High School, High Point, in 1945. The
piano will be added to other recent Coltrane
memorabilia acquired by the museum including
a 5th grade report, 3 sheets of music with
Coltrane's handwritten musical notations,
and a DownBeat Award. - by Cheryl
Philips
July
27, 2007 - 
August
3, 2005 - A preciously unreleased recording
featuring 
