The Third Annual Coltrane Day Music Festival kicks off this week in Huntington on Saturday, July 22 from 2 to 10:30 p.m.,
The Coltrane Home in Dix Hills — in conjunction with the Town of Huntington Summer Arts Festival and the Huntington Arts Council — intends to stage an all-day, affordable, family-friendly festival of live music and workshops in Heckscher Park in Huntington Village.
“Building Community through Music” and “The Creative Force” are this year’s themes, as the event celebrates the legacies of music giants John and Alice Coltrane, who lived in Dix Hills.
The festival will host workshops, master-classes, community jams and live performances for all ages and levels.
World-class, live music performances, including jazz, funk, blues, hip-hop, gospel, electronic music and jamband will be featured, with top local music talent on display.
Headliners include Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers and well-known saxophonist Kenny Garrett.
Local arts and food are included, along with many opportunities for young musicians to play with professionals.
New this year will be electric bass giant, Matt Garrison, who will lead a class for aspiring bassists.
Garrison is also one of the headliners of the day’s music lineup.
The workshops and jams that were huge successes at the inaugural 2015 and 2016 festivals are sure to be high points once again, as musicians young and old get to sit in with peers and professionals in a supportive environment.
Coaches will also be available, offering one-on-one assistance to aspiring musicians.
Workshops this year include Music Improvisation, Percussion Improv, Funk Workshop, Rap/Hip-Hop Beats, Electronic Music, Songwriting, Vocal Workshop — Bobby McFerrin Style, Drum Circle, It’s About the Bass!, and Coltrane Meets India — Ragas & Jazz.
The workshops run from 12 to 2 p.m. and are approximately 45 minutes in length.
There is a $5 donation requested for workshops.
For a full lineup and to register for classes, go to www.thecoltranehome.org.
American jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane influenced innumerable musicians and remains one of the most significant saxophonists in music history.
He received many posthumous awards and recognitions, including canonization by the African Orthodox Church as Saint John William Coltrane, and a special Pulitzer Prize in 2007.
His second wife was pianist Alice Coltrane, and their son Ravi Coltrane is also a saxophonist.
A little over 50 years ago, Coltrane’s opus work, “A Love Supreme,” considered by many music enthusiasts and jazz critics to be among the most influential pieces of music of the 20th century, was composed at their Dix Hills home, which the Coltranes moved into in 1964.
After John Coltrane died in 1967, Alice sold the home in 1973 and moved to Los Angeles.
The home was slated for demolition until jazz enthusiast and fellow Dix Hills resident Steven Fulgoni helped publicize the significance of the property.
In 2004, an outpouring of support from around the world, including letters from Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock, and many others, persuaded the Town of Huntington to purchase the property and convert the site into a park.
The home was placed in the hands of “The Friends of the Coltrane Home in Dix Hills,” also known as “The Coltrane Home in Dix Hills.”
According to Friends of the Coltrane Home President Ron Stein, saving and restoring the home was the right thing to do.
“John Coltrane is revered as a music god across all music genres, generations and around the globe,” Stein said. “It’s as if Beethoven had composed his Ninth Symphony right here on Long Island. People around the world will recognize Dix Hills, Huntington and Long Island as the Home of John Coltrane. His legacy is more than his music. His desire to use music as a force for good, his embracing of diversity, his kindness, and his work ethic and commitment to excellence set an inspirational model for all of us.”
The Coltrane Home is considered a national gem.
In 2011, the National Trust for Historic Preservation designated the home as one of the “11 most endangered properties” in the United States, a designation only given to properties deemed to have critical cultural importance.
Since that time, the “Friends” have made many improvements to stabilize and repair the home, but much more needs to be done.
The Coltrane Home now has a dual mission: to restore the Dix Hills Home and create a state-of-the art museum and inspirational learning and cultural center at the site, along with a beautiful park environment; and to develop its “Music for Life” program to encourage young people to engage in the creative music-making process and improve their communication and life skills.
2017 also marks the 52nd anniversary of the Town of Huntington and the Huntington Arts Council’s Summer Arts Festival, and is testament to the importance of Huntington’s commitment to arts and music.
The Huntington Arts Council is assisting The Coltrane Home to present the Music Festival.
