Students rocked out to jazz from highly-acclaimed musicians in around the nation Saturday night, and didn’t have to leave campus to enjoy it.
A 14-piece jazz ensamble performed during the 32nd annual John Coltrane Memorial Concert (JCMC) in Blackman Auditorium. The event was sponsored by the Department of African American studies.
“Our only goal is to make sure students have the opportunity to explore,” said Emmett Price, professor of music and chair of the Department of African American studies.
The concert is the longest-running memorial concert for Coltrane, hailed as one of the most influential jazz musicians in history. Two of the three co-founders, Syd Smart and Professor Leonard Brown, played in the ensemble. The third co-founder, Hayes Burnet, died previous to this year’s concert.
The ensemble preformed Coltrane classics with arrangements by local musicians Gary Valente, Mark Harvey, Price and Brown.
Brown, who is an associate professor of music, began the concert in 1977, on the 10-year anniversary of Coltrane’s death, he said. According to the JCMC website, the three founded the concert to expand interest in Coltrane’s music to help black musicians become leaders in their community, and because they believe Coltrane’s music deserved to be listened to for generations.
“The concert provides a stimulus in regards of students,” Brown said. “And exposing them to live improvisational music that has been so powerful in this country as well as the other parts of the world.”
More than 500 people attended the concert, including Northeastern students, Boston residents and students from the JCMC outreach program, a program founded in 1992 to bring live performance of improvisational music to select Boston elementary and secondary schools, according to the JCMC website.
“There are people who have been coming to this concert since the beginning, they are very loyal,” said Margo Napoles, a middler music industry major.
Napoles is on co-op in the African-American Studies Department and co-producer of the concert this year. She said working on the concert was an amazing opportunity to bring the music of Coltrane to students who might not be familiar with jazz.
“His legacy lives on through what we do at this school, “ Napoles said.
The concert was hosted by Eric Jackson, a part-time lecturer for the Department of African American Studies and a DJ at local jazz radio station WGBH.
“We try to bring his music to a new generation so students have access to his music to decide whether they like it or not,” Price said.
Price, who teaches the Jazz course at Northeastern, said he encouraged his students to attend the concert because they should take advantage that the concert is on their campus.
“We should have a variety of offerings for the students so those who are interested in being challenged by the music have the opportunity to be challenged,” Price said.
The theme of the concert this year was “The Believer,” named after a 1950’s McCoy Tyner composition, according to the website. In the ‘50s, Coltrane had overcome drug abuse, and believed in making his music a “force for good”.
“I hope [students] get a taste of the richness of music expression that is … so deeply rooted in American culture,” Brown said.
Brown said students can have a good experience by exposing themselves to the culture and music of Coltrane.
“I didn’t know very much jazz and I heard if you want to get into it, John Coltrane is the place to start,” said Kaitlin Cashin, a freshman nursing major.
Cashin said she was beginning to learn more about jazz because of the concert.
“I can’t believe music that was around so long ago is still around and still prevalent,” Napoles said.
The Department of African American Studies will begin to plan the 33rd annual concert immediately, Napoles said.
“This deserves to be put on right, and we try very hard to make it that way … it’s a pleasure to be able to honor him properly,” Napoles said.
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