During the past five years, one of the most anticipated jazz events has been the John Coltrane Birthday Celebration. The annual event is spearheaded by the Executive and Artistic Director of the Pappy Martin Legacy Jazz Collective, Dawn Berry Walker. Walker has kept the promise echoed by the legendary jazz artist Pappy Martin, her father, […]
I sat in one of the back pews of the Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church for the Celestial Jazz Series being presented by the Pappy Martin Legacy Jazz Collective. A confession that the social distancing recommendations due to the coronavirus and the anxiety we are all feeling hung over me like a dark cloud. The […]
(Photo Credits: Jack Zuff) Due to a computer glitch that meant several lights needed to stay on in the Burchfield Penney Art Center auditorium, it meant the lighting was brighter than usual for the Coltrane Celebration concert on Saturday, September 21. The concert and weekend celebration is presented by the Pappy Martin Legacy Jazz Collective […]
(Photo Credit: Jack Zuff) Family, love, spirit, healing, body, and soul. All words used in an evening of music celebrating the birthdate and legacy of John Coltrane. Words that aptly describe a night in which the Buffalo audience welcomed home two of its favorite sons – saxophonist Joe Ford and drummer Nasar Abadey. The 4th […]
This year, the annual John Coltrane Birthday Celebration will take place for three days in September. The annual event has evolved from a one-day event to a three-day event. Keeping alive a wish by the late Pappy Martin to honor the jazz legend’s birthdate each year. The Pappy Martin Legacy Jazz Collective continues this annual […]
Gary Bartz has an easily recognizable profile. Long flowing white hair, tall, and slim (in talking with him last night, I learned he still trains for marathons!). At the age of 77, Bartz is every bit an elder statesman of jazz. His association with pillars of jazz history includes Charles Mingus, McCoy Tyner, Max Roach, Abbey […]
Rob Dixon entered the stage of the Burchfield Penney Art Center quietly. However, his prescient understanding of the event, the 92nd Birthday Celebration of John Coltrane, led him to a place where his sax echoed the familiar sounds of Coltrane. The sounds an audience of Coltrane admirers long for. The first notes of “Lonnie’s Lament”, […]
James “Pappy” Martin was a legendary and much-revered jazz musician, bandleader, and community organizer who left an admired body of work when he passed in March of 2015 at the age of 82. During his musical career, “Pappy” Martin played with such greats as Aretha Franklin, Ruth Brown, Johnny Griffin, Billy Taylor, and Betty Carter. […]
