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John Coltrane Funeral Program

An inventory of his funeral program at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: RMH
Date: 2 Oct 2023

Biographical History

John William Coltrane (1926-1967), nicknamed Trane, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been credited with reshaping modern jazz, and was an enormous influence on successive generations of saxophonists. Coltrane recorded and produced hundreds of albums, many of which were released posthumously. In 2007 he received a posthumous Special Citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board for his "masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz."

Presided over by the "minister for the jazz community," John Garcia Gensel, Coltrane's funeral service was held on July 21, 1967 at St. Peter's Lutheran Church on Lexington Avenue in New York City. Coltrane made it known as he was dying of liver cancer that he wanted a relatively spar funeral. His friend and trumpeter Cal Massey read Coltrane's poem "A Love Supreme" and the Ornette Coleman Quartet closed the ceremony by playing "Holiday for a Graveyard." [source: Ornette Coleman's funeral in the New Yorker, 27 Jun 2015.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The John Coltrane Funeral Program consists of a single program from Coltrane's funeral service at St. Peter's Lutheran Church on Lexington Avenue in New York City.

Arrangement of the Collection

Single program

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Also see John Coltrane Performance Transcript

Subject Headings

Persons

Coltrane, John, 1926-1967.
Massey, Cal, 1927-1972.

Corporate Bodies

Albert Ayler Quintet.
Ornette Coleman Quartet.

Subjects

African American jazz musicians.
Funeral services.
Jazz.

Genres and Forms

Programs (documents)

Occupations

Composers.
Jazz musicians.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

John Coltrane Funeral Program,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Purchased, 2023

Table of Contents

Memorabilia

Inventory