LOCAL MUSICIA THE VARIOU COLT
Over the past year Memphis’ Strictly Jazz Entertainment, headed by promoter Dennis Adams, has partnered with Crosstown Arts to present a series of tribute concerts. The monthly program has included salutes to genre greats Thelonious Monk, Sarah Vaughan, “Cannonball” Adderley, and Phineas and Calvin Newborn, among others. The shows feature local Memphis musicians offering their own takes on these iconic artists’ catalogs.
For the March edition — set for this Friday night at Crosstown Arts — Adams contacted Memphis saxophonist Art Edmaiston with an offer to lead a tribute to John Coltrane. A veteran local and touring musician, best known for his long run as part of Gregg Allman’s band (until the singer’s death last year), Edmaiston was hesitant at first to take on ’Trane.
“I mean this is the Michael Jordan of saxophone we’re talking about,” says Edmaiston. “He has such a heavy influence across genres and generations. I didn’t want to be trying to pretend to be Coltrane, or have anyone think that I think of myself that way. But the more I considered the opportunity to play his music — which has meant so much to me — and do it in a concert setting, it was too good a chance to pass up.”
Edmaiston’s own connection to Coltrane’s music dates back to his teen years, growing up in the Northwest Tennessee hamlet of Troy. “It’s a very small town, not a lot of music at all,” he says. “I was in the school band program. But it was odd to be someone who had an interest in jazz, especially heavier jazz — something that wasn’t Kenny G or David Sanborn.”
“I was probably 15 or so, and I saw Branford Marsalis sitting in on ‘Late Night with David Letterman’ about ’86 or ’87. He played Coltrane’s ‘Giant Steps’ and Letterman was like ‘Oh, John Coltrane, the great John Coltrane.’ The next day I went to the record store and I got two Coltrane cassettes. One of them was ‘Giant Steps’ and the other was a collection of the Atlantic Records years. Those were my first introductions to his work. From that point on he became a huge influence.”
For Edmaiston, his appreciation continued when he arrived in the Bluff City in 1990 to attend the University of Memphis. “I kept collecting records by Col-
trane, getting into all the different aspects of what he did. I would pick up things like (1964’s) ‘Live at Birdland’ — I played that till it wore out.”
Cut to early 2018 and Edmaiston finally decided to accept Adams’ offer to put together a Coltrane tribute. “Once I got over the initial fear, I decided the set shouldn’t be things like ‘Giant Steps’ or a 30-minute version of ‘My Favorite Things.’ Coltrane wrote some beautiful melodies as well as some of the most challenging pieces in music — I wanted to highlight all the various sides of his music.”
The set list for Friday’s concert will draw on the various diverse aspects of Coltrane’s oeuvre. “He collaborated with some interesting jazz artists — he did a record with Duke Ellington for instance, and we’re doing one of those songs. His connection to world music was groundbreaking. So, we’ll touch on some of the modal music he did. And, also, he was a romantic so we’ll play some of his ballads and standards like ‘My One and Only Love,’ which he did with Johnny Hartman.”
Rounding out the show will be a selection of numbers that will highlight the bluesier aspects of Coltrane’s work. “Because Coltrane was always a blues player and kept that blues element in his playing all through his career. He even did a record called ‘Coltrane Plays the Blues.’ It will be a balanced set, representative of his career and songs that mean a lot to me, and to a lot of people.”
Helping Edmaiston will be a handpicked band that includes fellow Memphis notables Gerald Stephens on piano and Logan Hanna on guitar. ‘Logan will help break up the sound of the band as well,” says Edmaiston. “We won’t just be imitating the classic Coltrane quartet; we’ll have the electric guitar bringing a modern vibe to the show.”
Longtime University of Memphis jazz department member Tim Goodwin will be on acoustic bass, while the drum seat will be filled by Alabama native Chad Anderson. “He’s an old friend and incredible jazz drummer. He’s got real fire and spark and is super connected to the rhythmic invention of Elvin Jones and Rashied Ali, who played with Coltrane. He straddles the line between both those guys.”
The anticipation for the event is such that the show has already sold out — though it’s possible a handful of standing room only tickets will be made available the night of the concert. The interest in the series bodes well for future events, with guitarist Joe Restivo slated to head the next show, a salute to Blue Note legend Grant Green on May 12.
“I think this is a really wonderful idea,” says Edmaiston of the Strictly Jazz/ Crosstown series. “It’s a great way to hear local musicians in a true concert setting, and experience their contemporary vision and version of this music.”
“I mean this is the Michael Jordan of saxophone we’re talking about.” Memphis saxophonist Art Edmaiston