http://wrti.org/post/new-mural-rising-honor-john-coltrane
A New Mural Rising to Honor John Coltrane
Susan Lewis
 Listen to the radio feature.
A 12-year-old mural of John Coltrane near his North Philadelphia house was destroyed in 2014 to make way for real estate development. WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports on a new mural now rising just blocks away, restoring the jazz giant to his old neighborhood.
Mural Arts Executive Director Jane Golden talks with WRTI's Susan Lewis about how the Coltrane mural came to be.
I wanted the mural to reflect his humanity, more than anything else.- Ernel Martinez
Artist Ernel Martinez talks with WRTI's Susan Lewis about the new Coltrane mural at 29th and Diamond streets.
Radio script:
Music: Coltrane, My Favorite Things
Susan Lewis: Coltrane bought a home on North 33rd street in 1952, when the area was populated by jazz clubs. A mural created in 2002 by John Lewis showed a contemplative Coltrane in front of dreamy blue images of his house and music-making. It was beloved, and mourned when it disappeared.
<img src="http://wrti.org/sites/wrti/files/styles/default/public/201709/Coltrane2010-Restoration1200px.jpg" alt="The original John Coltrane mural, designed by artist John Lewis, was created in 2002.">
Jane Golden: When the mural went away, there were people who reached out to me, scholars from Los Angeles, Chicago. There was a universal outcry.
SL: Mural Arts Executive Director Jane Golden partnered with the developer to raise funds for a new mural at 29th and Diamond. Artist Ernel Martinez built on the original composition, with background images depicting the neighborhood outside, and in the clubs.
Music: Coltrane, Giant Steps
Ernel Martinez: I wanted it to be rich and vibrant, similar to his music, but also layered and complex.
SL: Martinez used bold colors to depict a confident Coltrane with his shining sax, his figure looming large in the warm light of a setting sun.
When the mural went away, there were people who reached out to me, scholars from Los Angeles, Chicago. There was a universal outcry.-Jane Golden
EM: I wanted the mural to reflect his humanity, more than anything else: his eyes, the love of this music and his instrument. I wanted to evoke that warmth, that emotion, that glow you get through his music in the mural.
Music: Coltrane, My Favorite Things
SL: The mural also depicts a historical marker telling Coltrane’s story. Pictures and words—conjuring timeless music and the man who made it, and who for a time called this neighborhood home.
Check out all of our amazing content about John Coltrane at the bottom of this post!
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