Musical Transcendence: The Legacy of John Coltrane’s Vision of World Music

“My music is the spiritual expression of what I am — my faith, my knowledge, my being.” John Coltrane

John Coltrane was an innovator, a visionary, a revolutionary and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He endlessly redefined musical horizon’s in search of a universal music to unite humanity and transform the world into a place of heaven. As a leading influence of the counter-cultural Jazz revolution of the 1960’s, Coltrane influenced a paradigm shift marked by deep existential inquiry. His search lead him to find wisdom in Eastern religious and spiritual cultures, leading him to integrate non-western ways of musical knowing into his own unique voice that could be described as spiritual expressionism. Coltrane devoted the last years of his life in search of a “multicultural theory of musical transcendence”, and believed not only in a universal musical structure that transcended ethnic distinctions, but also in being able to harness the mystical powers of music itself. Coltrane’s studies of Indian music with Ravi Shankar led him to believe that certain sounds and scales could “produce specific emotional meanings”, and stated “all a musician can do is to get closer to the sources of nature, and so feel that he is in communion with the natural laws.”

Jonathan and Andrew Kay will facilitate a conversation with Pat LaBarbera, world-renowned saxophonist and Coltrane expert, which will trace the history of John Coltrane’s engagement with world music cultures and how he innovatively folded them into his own musical journey. From here the discussion will turn to Coltrane’s influence on the emergence of global music and the contemporary horizon of this legacy.

This presentation will also premiere an innovative suite of Coltrane’s music, entitled, Dusk-Dawn by Jonathan and Andrew Kay, featuring Pat LaBarbera & Roberto Occhipinti. This will be a contemplative journey into a transcultural sound-world featuring saxophone trio and traditional instruments from India and Japan.

Pat Labarbera: tenor & soprano saxophones

Roberto Occhipinti: upright bass

Jonathan Kay: soprano saxophone, esraj (21-stringed Indian bowed instrument), shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute)

Andrew Kay: alto saxophone, himalayan singing bowls, guzheng, percussion