Fourth Annual Coltrane Day Music Celebration Returns to Huntington’s Heckscher Park Saturday, July 21st

On Saturday, July 21st, The John & Alice Coltrane Home in Dix Hills in conjunction with the Town of Huntington and the Huntington Arts Council will present a truly unique cultural and family-friendly event as the Fourth Annual Coltrane Day Music Celebration returns to Heckscher Park! The all-day Celebration will feature music workshops, community jams, family activities, and a wide range of food vendors and craft beer, non-profit organizations, and businesses celebrating the legacies of music giants John and Alice Coltrane, who lived in Dix Hills. Once again, the Artists Village will return. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged to support The Coltrane Home.

This year’s music lineup will bring together a unique blend of artists and bands including Sax Legend Joe Lovano along with the Michelle Coltrane Band. Grammy-winning saxophonist, composer and producer Joe Lovano is fearless in finding new modes of artistic expression. With a Grammy Win for his 52nd Street Themes and 14 other nominations, he has won DownBeat Magazine’s Critics and Readers Polls countless times as Tenor Saxophonist, Musician of the Year, Jazz Album of the Year and Triple Crowns from DownBeat. He also has numerous awards from Jazz Times and the Jazz Journalists Association for Tenor Saxophone, Album of the Year and Musician of the Year. Michelle Coltrane, who dazzled the audience two years ago, is the only daughter of Alice and John Coltrane, has toured the US and France as a soloist, and has performed with such artists as Kenny Kirkland, Jeff Watts, Ronnie Laws, Billy Childs, Jack DeJohnette, Marvin Smitty Smith, Reggie Workman, The Gap Band and with the McCoy Tyner Trio at the Montreux Jazz Celebration. Her first CD, I THINK OF YOU, is a classic and contemporary jazz collaboration with musician and composer Scott Hiltzik. The recording was well received by Jazz Times and won a YES Award, presented by blues artist Barbara Morrison. Her latest release, 2017’s highly acclaimed “Awakening” had All About Jazz note: “Coltrane delivers eleven numbers that artfully meld jazz, pop, adult contemporary, and R&B strains. Her vocal skills are beyond dispute and her vision is clear and intact”.

Other acts will include Dave Diamond, Jeff Mattson plus Zen Tricksters members, the region’s premier funk band, Funk Filharmonik, and the musical force Fantuzzi. For the first time, the event also features two of Long Island’s rising stars -- jazz trumpeter Jonathan Dely, and multi-talented jazz/hip-hop artist Dudley Music. Jazz music masters Premik Russell Tubbs, Dave Frank, and James Cammack will also be on stage.

Dave Diamond’s career in music spans more than twenty years. A prolific singer/songwriter and session musician, Dave has recorded and performed as a solo artist and with his own band as well as with an array of other talented and acclaimed musicians. Diamond’s mature and finely crafted blend of rootsy Americana with a little funk and classic singer-songwriter rock resonates for both the casual listener and those who have a more discerning palette. Jeff Mattson is a master of eclectic styles. Lead guitarist for Dark Star Orchestra, and the Donna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson, Jeff is a founding member of the legendary jam band The Zen Tricksters. Jeff has been a student of the Jerry Garcia style of guitar playing since the early 1970s. The Zen Tricksters can do it all. They are a superbly talented Rock/Jam band who play in both electric and acoustic formats and are once again touring as a four-piece electric band. The Tricksters have a huge working repertoire that ranges from their tuneful and well-crafted original pieces to traditional bluegrass and hillbilly jazz classics, to Grateful Dead, Dylan, Neil Young, and inventive interpretations of any and all songs that catch their fancy. Members of the Funk Filharmonik have played with a who's-who list of jazz, pop, funk, and Latin icons - from Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and The Blues Brothers to Tower of Power, Lionel Hampton, Celia Cruz, Dave Valentin, The Brecker Brothers, The Winans, The Allman Brothers...the list is endless (Check out the band’s Facebook Page for more info on individual members). Fantuzzi’s African-Caribbean roots and phenomenal international travel experiences meld into ecstatic, dramatic, transformational, interactive performances. Fantuzzi’s music is “Mystic Latin, Reggae, Afro-Funk” – infused with the energies and rhythms of Afro-Caribbean Nyabinghi, Latin Salsa, Merengue, African drums, Devotional Kirtan, giving voice to unique chants, soul-rich songs and electrifying sensual dance.

Jonathan Dely, 25, is an award-winning trumpet soloist from Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York. Named a finalist in the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition, the National Trumpet Competition, and the Yamaha Performing Artist Competition, Jonathan was awarded the prestigious Arthur Judson Prize in music, and accepted on scholarship and graduated from the Manhattan School of Music. Recognized as a rising star in the New York scene, in his first two years in New York, Jonathan has become a prolific performer at venues including Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, Blue Note NYC, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Django, Highline Ballroom, and the Princeton Club of New York, where he is Artist in Residence.

From Brentwood, Long Island, Dudley Music is a Hip-Hop recording artist, producer, and Jazz musician, playing saxophone, keys, guitar, drums, flute, and clarinet.

Premik Russell Tubbs is a composer, arranger, producer and an accomplished multi-instrumentalist who performs on various flutes, soprano, alto and tenor saxophones, wind synthesizers, and lap steel guitar. Premik has worked with everyone from Carlos Santana to Whitney Houston, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Ravi Shankar, Narada Michael Walden, James Taylor, Sting and Lady Gaga just to name a few. He is equally adept in pop, R&B, jazz, world and experimental genres. Dave Frank is one of the busiest solo jazz pianists and music educators on the scene today. He is the author of the best-selling Hal Leonard book and video series, Joy of Improv and Breakthrough to Improv, was an Associate Professor of piano at Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1987-2004, and was a co-founder of the New York School of Jazz (1983-86). In 2004 Dave moved to New York City to direct the Dave Frank School of Jazz in midtown Manhattan. The DFSOJ offers private instruction for aspiring musicians at all levels, as well as frequent concerts/workshops for the general public. In a feature article on James Cammack, Bass Player Magazine reviewer Richard Johnston nicknamed James, who was at the time a Chicago resident, “Chicago fire," for his hard-driving, creative approach to playing both acoustic and electric bass. At rehearsals of even the most complicated jazz pieces, Cammack just puts a finger on his instrument to find the key, asks for the general feel, and takes off. An extremely sensitive player, Cammack is an excellent sideman and his own solos demonstrate both virtuosity and musicality.

The Celebration will host workshops, master-classes, community jams and live performances for all ages and levels. World-class LIVE music performances, including jazz, funk, blues, gospel, hip-hop, electronic music and jamband will be featured, with top local music talent on display. Local arts and food are included along with many opportunities for young musicians to play with professionals!

Music masters galore will be helping out with the workshops, including percussionist Napoleon Revels-Bey, sax player Premik Russell Tubbs, Antigone Rising members, percussionist Tracey Hamilton, electronic music composer Mikah Feldman-Stein, Hip-Hop artist Adrenalin, percussionist Steve Finkelstein, master pianist Dave Frank and others.

Workshops run from 12 noon to 2PM. Workshop List:

• Playing Together - Family Improvisation & Drumming (Ages 5-10)
• Music Improvisation II (Ages 10-Adult)
• Girls Only! – Expressing Yourself with Girl Power (just for girls)
• Funk & Jazz Workshop
• Songwriting
• Finkletime - Find Your Inner Drummer with Lee Finklestein
• Rap/Hip-Hop – Freestylin
• Electronic Music
• Drum Circle
• Improve Your Improvs Master Class (with Dave Frank)

FOR MORE INFO ON WORKSHOPS &
THE COMMUNITY JAMS, VISIT:

https://bit.ly/2LHB3po

While many may know about Coltrane’s transformative impact on the world of jazz, where he has achieved nearly god-like status - what many may not know is his wider-reaching influence on so many other genres from rock to pop and R&B, world music, rap and hip-hop, and the ever-growing list of subgenres that exist today.

Building on the success of 2015, 2016, and 2017 - the Fourth Annual Coltrane Day Music Celebration will continue to raise funds for the restoration and transformation of the home into a cultural center and park and support ongoing and expanded education and outreach programming focused on empowering young people and fostering creativity.

This is consistent with the late Alice Coltrane’s stated goal for the Home, to “Inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to participate in the making of music and the creative process.”