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. […]
