(JOHN) COLTRANE 100: A TRIBUTE TO ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL JAZZ INNOVATORS
 
AB, Bozar and Kaaitheater join forces to present a unique tribute to John Coltrane: one of the most influential innovators in the history of jazz. Coltrane sculpted an entirely inimitable signature sound with his saxophone (a Belgian invention by Adolphe Sax).
 
His rich oeuvre is now considered a sacred legacy: “Many artists achieve greatness but very few produce work that is so moving that it’s considered sacred.” To mark Coltrane’s 100th birthday, in 2026 we honour his legacy with a series of dance performances, concerts, screenings and artist talks. 
 

7:00-7:40 pm
SCREENING: JOHN COLTRANE - LIVE A COMBLAIN-LA-TOUR (1965, RTBF, 38 MIN) 
 
John Coltrane only performed once in Belgium, though not at Bozar in Brussels (where virtually all the jazz icons of the time - Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk or Billie Holiday – had triumphed). Coltrane did, however, give a brilliant performance in the picturesque village of Comblain-La-Tour in Liège. 
 
Come again? It was there, in 1959, that the very first European open-air festival took place, organised by WOII veteran Joe Napoli (USA). As a gesture of gratitude for the local hospitality, he founded a charity event years later – the roof of the parish church was in need of repair – under the name Festival International du Jazz, welcoming jazz greats like Chet Baker, Nina Simone in the period 1959-1966. And on 1 August 1965 … John Coltrane. 
 
These historic recordings not only captured Coltrane’s single visit to Belgium, but were also the very last filmed footage of Coltrane’s so-called Classic Quartet with Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner and Jimmy Garrison. 
 
The intense and physical performance – one literally sees the steam rising from their bodies – shows a band at a turning point in its career. A few months later, the quartet split up due to artistic differences.
 

7:50-8:00 pm
MUSICAL PRAYER/ODE TO TRANE: CLIFFORD JORDAN QUARTET - JOHN COLTRANE (1975) 
 
To set the tone, on every evening of (JOHN) COLTRANE 100 we listen together to a musical ode to ‘Trane’ that carves deep into the soul. This captivating tribute was composed by bassist Bill Lee – father of filmmaker Spike Lee – that is brought to life by Coltrane disciple and tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan. The composition originally appeared on Glass Bead Games (Strata-East Records) in 1973, but it is this live version – recorded in Paris in 1975 – that grips us even more powerfully.

British music journalist Kevin Le Gendre: “It’s a devotional piece to the musical Messiah that reveals a kind of limitless, unconditional love for the man who was not like other men. It is the sound of the vocal chants that bring a deep spiritual charge to the music. The words are concise but well chosen: John Coltrane … Black Spirit … John Coltrane … First New Born.” 
 

8:00-8:45 pm
ELIN FORKELID PLAYS FOR TRANE
 
The name Elin Forkelid (SE) came to our attention via the superb album Ensamseglaren by the twelve-piece ensemble Anna Högberg Attack, of which Forkelid is 1/12th part. The Swedish saxophonist also regularly performs with Mats Gustafsson’s FIRE! Orchestra. She named her own band Elin Forkelid Plays For Trane as a tribute to ... you guessed it! 
 
Forkelid: “Being a tenor player myself, the works of Coltrane have been something almost divine. I feel a deep connection to John Coltrane and his music. I have learnt that there is such a thing as too much respect for your heroes: being the searcher that he was, I have to believe that John Coltrane would have wanted others to take on his search. It is with the deepest and most profound love and respect that I do my part of the search. It is with the greatest gratitude that I do Play For Trane.” 
 
Her quintet draws mainly from Coltrane’s later, ‘freer’ oeuvre, that found its home on Impulse! Records and, not coincidentally, bore the bassline The House That Trane Built. Think: the work on (posthumous) albums like Meditations, Expression, Impressions, Transition, A Love Supreme, Sun Ship of Cosmic Music. Autumn 2026 will see the release of Plays For Trane vol. 2 , once again via her own label Sail Cabin Records. Planned release date: 23 September 2026, the very day on which Coltrane would have turned 100.

9:15-10:30 pm
JAMES BRANDON LEWIS & CHAD TAYLOR DUO
 
The résumé of American saxophonist James Brandon Lewis (USA) reads like the ultimate letter of recommendation. Legend Sonny Rollins, who rarely offers praise and was moved by Lewis’ “deep, spirit-seeking sound”, remarked: “When I listen to Lewis, I listen to Buddha, I listen to Confucius … I listen to the deeper meaning of life.” Master guitarist Marc Ribot rightly described him as “a keeper of the legacy of John Coltrane”. 
 
His versatility is outright impressive: he has already turned up in acclaimed concert series Jazz Is Dead – organised by founders Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest) – with a stunning rendition of Donny Hathaway’s Someday We’ll All Be Free. On his album For Mahalia, With Love, he paid tribute to gospel legend Mahalia Jackson, and with former members of the legendary post-hardcore band Fugazi he formed the much-talked-about The Messthetics. Coincidence or not: both their self-titled debut from 2024 and its follow-up Deface the Currency (2026) were released on Impulse! Records, Coltrane’s safe haven in the sixties. With drummer Chad Taylor – see too: his band Chicago Underground Duo/Trio or his collaboration with Jaimie Branch on Fly Or Die I & II – he made the album Radiant Imprints in 2018, “inspired by the legacy of the greats who have passed on whose shoulders we stand on”. 
 
Their drums/sax line-up clearly refers to the collaboration between John Coltrane and drummer Rashied Ali, as heard on the posthumously released Coltrane album Interstellar Space. Radiant Imprints rightly found its place in The New York Times’ Best Jazz Albums of 2018, in the good company of Keith Jarrett, Makaya McCraven and Cécile McLorin Salvant. 
 
The New York Times: “James Brandon Lewis honors John Coltrane by isolating parts of his compositions, diving into the source material with strident, ennobled conviction. Whether charging on the drum set or playing the hypnotic mbira, Chad Taylor knows where to find Mr. Lewis at his best.” 
 
De Volkskrant added: “Brandon Lewis’ playing is full of fire, emotion, power and refinement.”
 
Line-up

Tenor sax: James Brandon Lewis
Drums: Chad Taylor