Jazz giant John Coltrane grew up in North Carolina and lived for more than a dozen years of his short life in New York City. Yet, Philadelphia lays a solid claim on the legendary saxophonist in its music pantheon. The 12 years he spent in Philly were pivotal for Coltrane, developing his signature sound, beating a heroin addiction, and exploring the spirituality that would inform his music.
Coltrane professed to having had an epiphany upon hearing Charlie Parker’s music and played an important role in Miles Davis’ quintet in the mid-to-late-1950s, with work in between with pianist Thelonious Monk. Coltrane went on to become a powerful and unique voice in jazz, with a modal style of playing and an intense spirituality.
In a career that spanned only a little more than 20 years, Coltrane made over 50 recordings as a leader, including seminal albums like Giant Steps, My Favorite Things, A Love Supreme, and Ascension, the latter two centered around his classic quartet with drummer Elvin Jones, Philadelphia-born McCoy Tyner, and bassist Jimmy Garrison, like Coltrane, another Philly transplant.
This year marks the centennial of Coltrane’s birth, and Philadelphia organizations are hosting numerous commemorations. A multi-media, multi-site event this weekend will broaden the view, celebrating North Philadelphia history through the lens of one of its most famous adopted sons. “North Philadelphia is a community that doesn’t get a whole lot of love, especially in the media,” noted Louis Massiah, executive director at Scribe Video Center, the presenting organization. “And with development and displacement, neighborhoods and their histories are being erased.”
The North Philadelphia History Festival: The John Coltrane Edition features free admission to video installations and film screenings, lectures, concerts, oral histories, photography exhibitions, and tours. With the theme of “Jazz. Spirit. Stories. History,” the three-day festival will be staged at several North Philadelphia sites from September 25 through 27.
John Coltrane in the Netherlands in 1963. | Photo courtesy of the Dutch National Archives, The Hague
The events take place at significant landmarks throughout North Philadelphia, including the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University, the Wagner Free Institute of Science, Church of the Advocate at 1801 W. Diamond Street, the PECO substation at 1835 W. Oxford Street, recently renamed Power Market, and of course, the John Coltrane House at 1511 N. 33rd Street, which was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1985 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1999.
Some of the offerings draw upon community archives and local voices. “For both the history festival and our Precious Places Community History Project, when local folks are presenting them, there’s a richness to the stories,” said Massiah. At the Widener branch of the Free Library, Jubilee School students have curated an exhibit of Black press coverage of the North Philadelphia music scene in the 1940s through the 1960s, while staff of the Blockson Collection will present oral history recordings and archival photographs of North Philadelphia. One of the video productions, “A Supreme Love,” by Steven Berry, features present-day Philadelphia jazz musicians talking about John Coltrane’s music and influence.
Saint John Will I Am Coltrane was created by spiritual icon painter Mark Dukes in 1992. | Image courtesy of Saint John Coltrane Church
This is the second year Scribe has celebrated a North Philadelphia neighborhood with a history festival, following its focus on North Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican community in 2025. “Last year when we put together the festival we weren’t thinking of it being an annual festival,” Massiah explained. “But tapping into the Coltrane centennial was a natural fit.”
Elsewhere in the city, numerous other organizations are joining in the Coltrane celebration. Events include a concert lineup and discussions produced by Ars Nova Workshop, a display of Philly-related Coltrane ephemera at the Parkway Central branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, and lunchtime listening sessions of Coltrane’s music in LOVE Park, called A Love Park Supreme, hosted by WRTI. Several venues have scheduled tribute concerts on Coltrane’s birthday, September 23, including the Clef Club, the Highmark Mann Music Center, Moonstone Arts Center, and Cellar Dog.
A ticket to John Coltrane’s legendary performance at Temple University on November 11, 1966. The concert was recorded that night and released 48 years later in 2014. | Image courtesy of Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries
On November 12, the Temple Performing Arts Center will host a 60th anniversary concert of Coltrane’s album Offering. It was performed at Temple University’s Mitten Hall at Berks and Broad Streets on November 11, 1966. The concert was broadcast live and recorded by then student-run WRTI. The tapes were forgotten until they were tracked down by a Japanese Coltrane fan and finally released on record in 2014 as Offering: Live at Temple University. Proceeds from the posthumously released album have benefitted the preservation of another John Coltrane residence on the National Register, in Dix Hills, New York, where he composed A Love Supreme in 1964.
The North Philadelphia History Festival: The John Coltrane Edition will take place throughout the city from September 25 through 27.
See Scribe Video Center’s website for more details: scribe.org/nphf
