This week, the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles announced that it will host a long-term new exhibit honoring the life and work of jazz legend John Coltrane. Officially opening to the public in November, the exhibit–dubbed Chasing Trane: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey Transcended–will follow the career of the virtuosic saxophonist and composer via handwritten manuscripts, musical instruments, and rare performance footage and audio recordings.
The exhibit, presented by watch designers and GRAMMY partners Bulova, will begin accepting visitors on November 17th, and remain on display at the museum’s L.A. Live location through September of 2018 in the museum’s “Mike Curb Gallery.” The museum exhibit will coincide with the home video and soundtrack release of director John Scheinfeld‘s critically be love new feature-length documentary, Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary, which is also due for commercial release on 11/17. “John Coltrane is a towering figure in the history of music. We are thrilled to honor his creative legacy in conjunction with John Scheinfeld’s superb documentary,” comments Grammy Museum executive director Scott Goldman in a statement.
Born September 23rd, 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina, Coltrane cut his teeth in music by attempting to imitate the sounds of idols like Charlie Parker and Johnny Hodges at the tender age of 13, and eventually blossomed into one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.
As the documentary’s description explains, “Coltrane’s dramatic life story was cinematic in its scope⎯from his early musical life playing alongside giants Dizzy Gillespie, Eddie Vinson and Jimmy Heath, to breakout performances with the Miles Davis Quintet on their classic recordings ‘Round About Midnight’ and ‘Kind of Blue,’ to the historic partnership with Thelonious Monk and then finally to his astonishing solo career that gave the world such musical diamonds as Giant Steps, My Favorite Things, Impressions, Live at Birdland and 1965’s seminal A Love Supreme. In 1967, Coltrane would shock the music world one last time, when he died at the age of 40 due to complications from liver cancer exacerbated by years of drug abuse. He remains dominant figure whose massive influence on generations of artists has grown even stronger since his death.
You can find out more information about For more information on the Chasing Trane GRAMMY Museum exhibit and documentary by following the respective links. Check out a preview of the film featuring everyone from Bill Clinton to Sonny Rollins to Carlos Santana and beyond below, via UMeMusicTeam:
[h/t – Billboard]