Exclusive celebration of 50th Anniversary of A Love Supreme curated by Ravi Coltrane at SFJAZZ Center

SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco’s exclusive celebration of 50th Anniversary of A Love Supreme – curated by Ravi Coltrane.

During the week of December 10-14, 2014, SFJAZZ in San Francisco is presenting an exclusive 50th Anniversary Celebration of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme.  To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of A Love Supreme, recorded on December 9, 1964 and released by Impulse! in February of 1965, Ravi Coltrane, son of the late jazz giant, has curated a week’s worth of special events.

Ravi will perform in four different settings in which all or parts of A Love Supreme will form the core of each concert. The celebration kicks off with a symposium December 10 with writer Ashley Kahn, author of the revealing 2002 book A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane’s Signature Recording, and other speakers including SFJAZZ Poet Laureate Ishmael Reed, former Santana drummer Michael Shrieve, Big Brother and the Holding Company guitarist Sam Andrew, and SFJAZZ founder Randall Kline.

Ravi will lead a group with the great tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano on December 11, and his own quartet December 12 on a bill with the Turtle Island Quartet, the sensational improvising string ensemble that won a 2007 Grammy for its rich A Love Supreme recording.  Coltrane performs again with his quartet and various special guests on December 13, and an afternoon concert on December 14 with the award-winning SFJAZZ High School All Stars.

On December 14, the creative saxophonist and composer Steve Coleman whose combustible music integrates free jazz, funk, soul and world music, performs with his explosive Five Elements band, exploring A Love Supreme his way.

Wednesday, December 10, 7:30pm

Jazz author Ashley Kahn and special guests will gather to discuss the development, impact and influence of Coltrane’s masterwork on the music world, the jazz scene in the Bay Area, and its role as one of the definitive artistic statements of the 20th century.  SFJAZZ Poet Laureate Ishmael Reed, Michael Shrieve, Sam Andrew, and SFJAZZ founder Randall Kline will join the discussion.

Thursday, December 11, 7:30pm

Two of the finest saxophonists in jazz pay tribute to Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, Joe Lovano and Ravi Coltrane, finding common ground in the shared influence of the elder Coltrane’s most enduring composition and expanding upon its legacy.

Friday, December 12, 7:30pm

The wildly inventive, GRAMMY-winning Turtle Island Quartet presents a fresh take on Coltrane’s masterwork, re-imagined for strings. For this exclusive performance melding the classical and jazz worlds, the group will share the bill with Ravi Coltrane’s stellar quartet.

Saturday, December 13, 7:30pm, 10:00pm

An incredible night of genre- bending collaboration, as saxophonist Ravi Coltrane brings together a group of musical luminaries for an explosive approach to A Love Supreme.

Sunday, December 14, 7:00pm

Master musicians salute the legacy of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, featuring influential saxophonist Steve Coleman and his Five Elements band hosted by Ravi Coltrane.