Jazz at Vienne Festival tribute to John Coltrane
The jazz Festival pays homage to John Coltrane with a special concert featuring three artists who carry the torch of one of the most visionary music artists of the 20th century.
Among the 15 days of the Jazz at Vienne festival just south of Lyon this summer is an evening on July 3rd paying homage to John Coltrane, one of the legends of popular music.
Marking the 50th anniversary of his untimely death in 1967, the evening features performances by jazz veterans Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders but also the new generation of disciples in the form of Jeff Mills and Emile Parisien.
It’s an evening to acknowledge the passing of one of the true musical greats and to witness his enduring legacy.
Archie Shepp, king of experimental jazz
Archie Shepp participated in the sessions for Coltranes classic album “A Love Supreme” recorded in 1964 (although his parts were never used) and also the album “Ascension” alongside Coltrane but his place at the forefront of the avant garde jazz scene was confirmed with the release of “New Thing at Newport” in 1965, a split-album featuring Coltrane on one side and Shepp the other.
Archie Shepp, by Jan Kricke
His album “Fire Music” showed the first signs of his afrocentric political consciousness and now at the ripe old age age of 79 Shepp is still considered an important experimental jazz player.
He performs at Jazz at Vienne with his mighty 10 piece all star band of French and American musicians.
Sanders, best tenor player in the world
Pharoah Sanders was described by Ornette Coleman as “probably the best tenor player in the world” and in 1989 won a Grammy for his album “Blues for Coltrane”: A tribute to John Coltrane. Sanders emerged from Coltrane’js groups of the 60s performing on “Ascensions” and also the 1965 dual-tenor recording “Meditations”.
He was a member of Coltrane’s final quintet having a strong influence on his style in the last years of his life before his unfortunate departure at the age of 40.
Performing as a quartet it promises to be a magical moment in the Roman amphitheatre of Vienne.
Saxophone and electro beats
The third concert making up this special evening is by the exciting duo of Jeff Mills and Emile Parisien. Mills, aka “The Wizard of Detroit” is an American DJ, composer and producer who founded the techno collective “Underground Resistance” in the late 80’s and whose innovative approach to combining electro beats and multiple turntables has earned him international recognition including being knighted “Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Ministry of Culture.
Jeff Mills
Tribute to John Coltrane
On July 3rd for this tribute to Coltrane, Mills is joined on stage by Emile Parisien, a contemporary saxophonist on the cutting edge of the new French jazz scene. The duo approaches electro beats, samples and saxophone from a “trance” angle in much the same way that Coltrane experimented with free jazz and the results are supreme.
So the evening of July 3rd is surely not to be missed.
John Coltranes legacy lives on and his free-form, experimental and trance-like approach to making music passes from generation to generation.
Jeff Mills & Émile Parisien