John Coltrane had the Divine on his mind when he made A Love Supreme, his masterwork, in 1964. “Thank you God,” he repeated more than a dozen times in the poem that appeared on the album insert, and guided his phrasing of “Psalm,” the final movement of a momentous four-part suite.
At the same time, the artist Robert Indiana drew on his upbringing in the Christian Science church to create a graphic painting titled “Love is God.” It got him thinking about love, and he soon designed a stacked image that he put in a Christmas card. So in December of 1964, just as Coltrane was recording A Love Supreme, Indiana was sending out a prototype for LOVE, which would become his defining work, and an icon of the Pop Art movement.
The indirect but intriguing dialogue between these two landmarks will come into focus for A Love Park Supreme, a weeklong celebration of Coltrane’s 100th birthday at Philadelphia’s John F. Kennedy Plaza — better known as LOVE Park, after the Indiana sculpture that has presided over the space for the last 50 years. On Sept. 21-22 and Sept. 24-25, WRTI will present Coltrane-themed broadcasts in the park, Noon to 2 p.m. The broadcasts can also be heard on our HD-2 and jazz streams.
Starting at midnight on the date of Coltrane’s birth, Sept. 23, WRTI presents the 26-hour Coltrane 100 Philly marathon at night on our FM broadcast and during the day on our HD-2 and jazz streams. This includes a two-hour listening party from 4-6 p.m. in LOVE Park focusing on music he recorded while living in Philadelphia. At 6 p.m., we'll feature an evening performance in the park by acclaimed saxophonist Jaleel Shaw, leading a trio with Alex Claffy on bass and Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums. This concert will feature Coltrane’s music as played by one of his many inheritors, and a fellow product of the still-vibrant Philadelphia jazz pipeline.
But even if you can’t make it to LOVE Park in person for Coltrane’s centennial, you can join us in celebrating with his music all week long, streaming worldwide at wrti.org and on the WRTI app. Then every night at 9 p.m., we’ll broadcast one part of Steve Rowland’s award-winning five-part documentary Tell Me How Long Trane’s Been Gone, with narration by the late poet Michael S. Harper.
Here’s what else we have in store for the daily broadcasts:
Coltrane 100 on the Air at WRTI
Monday, Sept. 21: The Hardbop Architect and Sideman Roots
Noon to 1 p.m. — Coltrane the Sideman, featuring tracks from his expansive work with jazz greats like Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and Red Garland.
1 to 2 p.m. — Sheets of Sound, marking the evolution of Coltrane’s style, as indelibly characterized in a phrase by critic Ira Gitler. Highlights include his breakthrough “Giant Steps,” and the piece “Russian Lullaby.”
Tuesday, Sept. 22: Lyricism, Ballads and Standards
Noon to 1 p.m. — The Balladeer, incorporating classic performances like “Lush Life,” “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” and “What’s New?”
1 to 2 p.m. — The Standard Reimagined
Wednesday, Sept. 23: Our Coltrane 100 Philly 26-hour marathon
To kick off our 26-hour Coltrane 100 Marathon at midnight, Julian Booker will play an hour of selections from the Miles Davis/John Coltrane box set The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6. Among the other highlights to listen for:
4 a.m. — Full album playback of Ballads (Impulse! 1963)
8 a.m. — Full album playback of Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (Impulse! 1963)
10 a.m. — A WRTI exclusive: Devotion: A Love Supreme, featuring saxophonist Morgan Guerin, the Orrin Evans Trio, and poet Ruth Naomi Floyd at Mother Bethel AME Church.
Noon — Full album playback of Coltrane “Live” at the Village Vanguard (Impulse! 1963)
4 p.m. — “Coltrane in Philadelphia,” two hours of selections recorded between 1952 and 1958 when John Coltrane lived in his house on North 33rd Street in Strawberry Mansion.
8 p.m. — Full album playback of A Love Supreme (Impulse! 1965)
9 p.m. — Part III of the audio documentary Tell Me How Long Trane's Been Gone
10 p.m. — SideTrane, an hour of selections from albums featuring Coltrane as sideman.
12 a.m. (9/24) — Following a selection from Kind of Blue at midnight, Julian Booker closes the marathon with a playback of the 2014 release Offering: Live at Temple University, which documents a 1966 performance at Temple’s Mitten Hall, originally broadcast live on WRTI.
Thursday, Sept. 24: The Classic Quartet and Modal Exploration
Noon to 1 p.m. — Hypnotic Coltrane
1 p.m. to 2 p.m. — Vanguard and Peak Quartet
Friday, Sept. 25: The Spiritual Avant-Garde
Noon to 1 p.m. — Contemplation and Prayer
1 p.m. to 2 p.m. — Break the Borders / Into the Beyond