"Coltrane"

by Nate Chinen

exhibit

He was born in North Carolina and lived for years in New York City, but Philadelphia was the place John Coltrane called home. This in itself is no secret: The local jazz community has long claimed Trane as one of its own. For the most part, though, the legend has remained an enigma even in his hometown. So Philly should happily welcome "Coltrane," a multimedia exhibit co-organized by Mark Christman of Ars Nova Workshop and Aaron Levy and Osvaldo Romberg of Slought Foundation. Less a comprehensive portrait than a pointillist collage, the show combines relevant work by visual artists with archival materials and audio samples culled from Impulse! Records and Rutgers’ Institute of Jazz Studies, among other sources. The exhibit’s centerpiece, a tape featuring Coltrane’s 1958 interview with August Blume, has been circulated in print but never publicly played in raw form. The interview sheds no new light on the saxophonist’s oeuvre, but it’s fascinating to hear Coltrane on the process of music-making in his own words and voice. Trane would probably be happy to know that there’s a five-concert series coinciding with this exhibit, featuring such esteemed soul-searching inheritors as Mark Helias, Rob Brown, William Hooker and Billy Bang.

"Coltrane," opening reception, Sat., Nov. 15, 6:30-8:30 p.m., free, exhibit through Jan. 15; Belogenis/Lane & Carl Grubbs, Dec. 6, Mark Helias’ Open Loose, Dec. 13, Stone House, Jan. 10, Bang/Fonda/Altschul Trio, Jan. 15, William Hooker’s FLOW, Jan. 17; 8 p.m., $12; Slought Foundation, 4017 Walnut St., 215-222-9050, www.ticketleap.com, www.slought.org.