The Second Annual John Coltrane Symposium culminates in this day-long event featuring moderated panel discussions, a dramatic reading, music, and more — in celebration of the life and music of John William Coltrane.

The highlight of this year’s symposium will be two panel discussions about Coltrane’s music and life. The opening panel includes discussions between ethnomusicologist Nia I’man Smith; composer, multi-instrumentalist, and educator, Jamal Moore; and artist-educator and AfriCobra member, James Phillips.

Our second panel will feature three biographers on John Coltrane. Scholar and musician, Karlton Hester will join two of the earliest biographers on Trane: Bill Cole and Dr. C.O. Simpkins. Cole and Simpkins have not been in conversion in over thirty years. We are honored to bring them together along with Hester to learn about their approaches and research to bringing Coltrane’s life, music and beliefs to a wider audience.

Keynote speaker Dr. Greg Carr will walk us through the historical and musical narrative of Coltrane and his musical foundations. This year’s symposium will also include a dramatic reading of Dear Listener from Carlo Campbell of Theatre in the X. Dear Listener, a play conceived and written by Anyabwile Love, takes place just days after Coltrane records A Love Supreme and imagines his reflections on his life and musical career as he visits his mother and Cousin Mary in Philadelphia. Our four days of events will conclude in the only way imaginable: with a musical performance by Alfie Pollitt and his All-Star Quartet.

Program Schedule

Noon-1:30PM

Panel I
Impressions on Coltrane

• Nia I’man Smith — PhD. candidate in Ethnomusicology at Indiana University Bloomington and founder of The Black Connection
• Jamal Moore — Professor of Jazz History at Coppin State and composer-performer
• James Phillips — Visual Artist, AfriCobra, Associate Professor of Arts at Howard University
• Dr. Josh Myers (moderator) — Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Howard University and author of Cedric Robinson: The Time of the Black Radical Tradition

1:30-3:15PM

Panel II
A Force for Real Good: A Coltrane Biographers Round Table

• Dr. C.O. Simpkins — Author of Coltrane: A Biography (1975)
• Bill Cole — Musician and author of John Coltrane (1976)
• Dr. Karlton Hester — Professor of Music at UC Santa Cruz, musician, and author of The Melodic and Polyrhythmic Development of John Coltrane’s Spontaneous Composition in a Racist Society (1997)
• Gabriel Vanlandingham Dunn (moderator) — Writer, DJ, Black American Music historian, and creative consultant

3:30-4:00PM

Keynote Address

• Dr. Greg Carr — Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Howard University and co-host of In Class With Carr

4:00-4:30PM

Dramatic Reading: Dear Listener

• A theatrical work in progress written by Anyabwile Love
• Read by Carlo Campbell, Artistic Director, Theatre in the X

5:00-6:00PM

Closing Concert

Alfie Pollitt All-Star Quartet at The Woodlands Mansion

• Alfie Pollitt – piano
• Nasir Dickerson – saxophone
• Richard Hill – bass
• Alan Nelson – drums