(With apologies to Cypress Hill.) Activities aplenty to honor John Coltrane beginning this Sunday, as John Coltrane Memorial Concert Week has been declared by both Boston and Cambridge. Most excitingly, The John Coltrane Memorial Concert at Northeastern's Blackman Theatre on Sept. 22 will feature the Ravi Coltrane Quartet and Amiri Baraka, along with the large ensemble of Boston musicians coming together to make up the John Coltrane Memorial Ensemble for this year's 30th anniversary event. Events kick off with the Sept. 16 Aardvark Orchestra concert "Coltrane Facets" at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Other events include a Sept. 21 benefit by the Bill Pierce Quartet with Mulgrew Miller, raising funds for the JCMC Educational Outreach Program, and a Sept. 17 Tribute to the 30-Year JCMC Legacy with Your neighborhood Saxophone Quartet (Tom Hall, Cercie Miller, Joel Spring, Allan Chase) at New England Conservatory's Brown Hall. For full info: www.jcmc.neu.edu.
Meanwhile, for those of you who need a little reminder of what's being celebrated:
That's "Alabama." Coltrane was born Sept. 23, 1926 and died July 17, 1967. WGBH FM's Eric Jackson, who emcees the JCMC, will air a two-part Coltrane tribute that also features highlights from 30 years of concerts on Sept. 17 and 24. It can be ehard at 8p.m. both nights in New England on 89.7 FM and live worldwide at wgbh.org/jazz/.


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