As Philadelphia commemorates John Coltrane’s centennial, this special guided listening — led by Philadelphia native Anyabwile Love, founder of the John Coltrane Symposium, and acclaimed author, curator and music journalist Marcus J. Moore — offers an intimate journey through the music of John and Alice Coltrane. Rather than treating their work as static artifacts of jazz history, Love and Moore will listen closely to songs from the Coltranes’ catalog, tracing the spiritual, philosophical and sonic ideas that connected two of the 20th century’s most important artists. Through selected recordings, conversation and reflection, the program will explore how John and Alice used music as a vehicle for transcendence, inquiry and liberation.

Together, Love and Moore bring complementary perspectives to the experience. Love, a writer, filmmaker and professor of History and Black Studies at Community College of Philadelphia, has spent years examining Coltrane’s legacy through the John Coltrane Symposium and his scholarship on Black culture. Moore, whose work spans The New York Times, NPR, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and beyond, has built a career around intentional listening and creating spaces where music can be encountered with patience, context and feeling. This listening event will invite audiences to hear the Coltranes’ music deeply, while considering how their work continues to speak to the present.

About the Host

Marcus J. Moore is a Fishtown-based music journalist who covers jazz for The New York Times and serves as a professor of music journalism at the University of Maryland. He is the author of The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America and High and Rising (A Book About De La Soul), both named among Rolling Stone’s Best Music Books of their respective years. His work sits at the intersection of music, history, and cultural storytelling—making him a natural guide for this kind of listening-forward experience.