Is the Music Over for Church of St. John Coltrane?
Thursday March 16 6:17 PM ET
dailynews.yahoo.com
By Michael Kahn
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Worshipers at San Francisco's St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church do not simply
think jazzman John Coltrane is good. They think he is divine.
In what is probably the world's only church that bases its liturgy on Coltrane's deeply spiritual music, congregants gather
every Sunday for music-filled celebrations led by their own energetic saxophone-playing bishop, Franzo King.
But after almost 30 years as one of the quirkier landmarks in a city known for its love of the offbeat, the Coltrane church is
facing music of a different sort: a rent hike that threatens to close it down for good.
``Our concern is for those people we call pilgrims, the people that come to the Coltrane church like people go to Jerusalem
and Mecca,' King, 55, told Reuters in an interview at his tiny church where life-size murals of the legendary jazzman hang
on the walls along with a giant picture of a black Jesus.
First-time visitors might wonder about a church that boasts a patron saint who was a former heroin addict and alcoholic,
who occasionally fell asleep on stage and who was fired from a band by Miles Davis. Coltrane died in 1967 at the age of
40.
But King explains that Coltrane's journey to cleanse himself physically and spiritually is a road that eventually took him to
sainthood. Coltrane himself, in the liner notes to his 1964 album ``Love Supreme,' credited a spiritual awakening that
occurred after he went cold turkey to quit drugs.
Amazing Grace
``During the year 1957, I experienced, by the Grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead to a richer, fuller,
more productive life,' Coltrane wrote in the notes that are prominently displayed on the church walls. ``At that time, in
gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music.'
King and his followers believe their church provides that means. ``John didn't leave any question as to where he was with
God,' King said. ``Before 1964 it wasn't so common for people to come out and dedicate an album to God.'
King had his own Coltrane conversion in the 1960s when he heard one of the sax player's records for the first time,
describing the experience as a ``sound baptism.' In 1971, King and several other fans settled into the tiny storefront to carry
out their form of worship through Coltrane's music.
For a religion based on music, the Coltrane church was a remarkably quiet affair. But in 1981 Coltrane's widow sued the
church for $7.5 million, claiming the group was exploiting her husband's name and infringing on copyright laws.
King declined to provide details, noting the lawsuit was eventually settled out of court. But the notoriety attracted the
attention of the African Orthodox Church, which was looking to expand west. So he packed his bags and headed to Chicago
where, after two years of study, he was ordained as a bishop before returning to San Francisco and the helm of his church.
``We are uplifting the life of Jesus Christ and we are doing it with the music of John Coltrane,' King said.
Jam Session Spirituality
From its base in San Francisco's famed Haight-Ashbury district, ground zero for the hippies' ``Summer of Love' in 1967,
the Coltrane church draws both old-time worshipers and adventurous tourists to its services, which feature the wiry,
bespectacled King drumming, playing saxophone and exhorting the crowd to lose themselves in the music.
A Sunday session typically begins around noon but the sounds of musicians tuning their instruments waft out into the
crowded benches before the band takes the pulpit. The free-form jams that precede the sermon can last for hours but the 60
or so people at the church on a recent Sunday did not seem to mind as they responded to the bishop's calls to get physical.
``If the spirit hits you and you want to clap your hands, it's all right,' King told the crowd. ``If you want to stand up and
stomp your feet, its OK. The Lord says that you have to serve the Lord with all your strength. When you leave here we want
you to feel some kind of physical exhaustion.'
Amanda Price, a student who attended a recent service, was clearly moved by the experience. ``It's like floating in the air,'
she said. ``I still need to absorb it.'
The church seeks to mix more than just music and religion. When not preaching the gospel of Coltrane, King works with his
congregation to feed and shelter the local homeless.
Good Works, Good Music In The Balance
But both the church's good works and its good music now hang in the balance. A new landlord who recently bought the
church building hiked the rent so high that King and his flock see no choice but to pull up stakes and move.
Lawyers recently worked out a court settlement allowing the church to remain in the building until April 1 and then hold an
Easter Service April 23. After that, the future is uncertain.
While church members have found potential new sites, most are far from the current location, require at least $10,000 in
renovation costs and are situated in rougher parts of town where visitors, who bring important cash contributions, may not
be so willing to travel.
``The reality of us having $10,000 now is not something we can hope for other than through faith,' King said. ``It's not like
we have pockets that deep.'
Some see the pending eviction as yet another San Francisco cultural institution being driven out of business by spiraling
rents in what now is one of the most expensive U.S. cities.
But King and his congregation remain cautiously optimistic, believing that somehow God -- or Coltrane -- will work a
miracle to keep them in business. |
