Coltrane 100 at Freight and Salvage

Coltrane 100
Freight and Salvage
Berkeley, CA
April 15, 2026

Chatting with Joe Lovano after the evening's proceedings, I remarked, "How amazing it must be to have a group of all top notch New York bandleaders," to which he replied, "Combining bandleader personnel does not always produce what you might expect!"  On this night in the heart of Berkeley, however, the performance of this group of stellar cats far exceeded one's wildest expectations; it was pure magic from the intro through the outro. 

With the stellar cast shown above, it was an evening of "Pure Music"—comprised of all Coltrane tunes, ranging from his late '50's period through his life's conclusion in 1967.  As a total Coltrane devotee myself, one who actually saw him perform live, I can attest that this was a superlative homage. Beginning with his "Moment's Notice," the show took off in fifth gear and only accelerated from there. Melissa Aldana—Joe's former student—offered up a long, powerful Coltrane-style solo that did righteous justice to the master.

The front line of Lovano along with Aldana, set things ablaze, while Jeff Tain Watts was an explosive force on drums from the giddy-up to the tidy up. 

Next, the group proceeded to do another of Trane's late '50s burners, "One Up, One Down,"  with Nduduzo Makhathini offering Tyneresque bold strokes on the keys. The group continued with Coltrane's beautiful ode to his first wife "Naima," where tenors Lovano and Aldana softened our hearts with warm and  tender solos.

Moving on to "Acknowledgements," the initial section from Trane's landmark 1964 album, Love Supreme, Linda May Han Oh appeared to have bouts of rapture, while she seamlessly slipped into and out of a musical trance as she danced with her bass, her large horseshoe earrings dangling and bobbing side to side.

Other pieces included, "You Taught my Heart to Sing," and a soulful rendering of "Lonnie's Lament," from the fine 1962 Impulse album, Coltrane.

When the band covered Trane's magnificent 1965 album, Meditations, it was as if Pharoah Sanders' spirit was furiously blowing and screeching from the wings. It was literally a blast of dizzying sound.

Next, was the title cut from another Coltrane signature album, Impressions. That memorable track featured Trane's most stellar quintet:  ( the genius Eric Dolphy had joined The John Coltrane Quartet in 1961 at the Village Vanguard  for what turned out to be a memorable and productive three-day stint. With Dolphy on board, Coltrane and the ensemble produced 'Impressions," "Spiritual," "India," and more for the 1963 album, which garnered five stars in Downbeat.

Next up, was a piece where Makhatini mimicked Ukuchofoza, the tongue-clicking language patterns of the South African Zulu people, in a rendition of the warm and fuzzy Juno Lewis piece, "Kulu Se Mama."

Finally, the ensemble played the opening sections of Coltrane's final album, "Expressions," recorded in his final year, with Lovano playing all four of his instruments and Aldana adding solid runs on tenor.

Upon the set's conclusion, the entire audience immediately sprang to their feet in a   well-deserved and truly deafening standing ovation.

Once the applause eventually subsided and the band retook the stage, Lovano announced that Joshua Redman would be joining the band for an encore. He danced onto the stage before blowing the roof off with a rousing, forceful solo on his tenor sax on the tune, "Mr. PC" from the Coltrane Plays the Blues album.

From beginning to end, a heaven-on-earth musical evening, and a worthy tribute to the genius we know as Trane.

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