“Trane At 100:” Celebrating the Legacy of John Coltrane as a Living Source of Imagination

September 17, 2026

Coltrane Bw — John Coltrane blows his horn. Creative Commons

A collaboration between 5-0 Studios London and The Red Cantaloupe Experience

John Coltrane changed more than the possibilities of the saxophone. He expanded the vocabulary of modern music, challenged conventional ideas about improvisation and composition, and pursued a spiritual and artistic language whose influence continues to cross cultures and generations.

On Sept. 27, Trane At 100: A Centennial Celebration of John Coltrane will bring musicians, historians, jazz devotees and cultural voices together at Roscoe’s Jazz Lounge in Long Beach, for a live celebration conceived and produced by playwright, musician, jazz historian and founder of The Red Cantaloupe Experience, Robert J. Carmack, M.F.A.

The event lineup includes: James Love vocals, Pablo Calagero bass clarinet/flute, Teodross Avery tenor/soprano sax, Robert Turner piano, Robert Miller drums, Kevin O’Neal music director/bass, Robert J Carmack producer/host /poet.

Born Sept. 23, 1926, Coltrane is being celebrated throughout 2026 as audiences, institutions and musicians around the world reconsider the magnitude of an artist whose work permanently altered the direction of jazz and whose spiritual and creative influence continues well beyond it.

“John Coltrane did not leave us a finished conversation,” said Carmack. “He left us questions about sound, spirit, discipline, courage and possibility. Trane At 100 gives us an opportunity to celebrate the man and the music.”

“A Love Supreme” by John Coltrane. The album was recorded in one session on December 9, 1964. Creator, Montreal Concert Poster Archive. Creative Commons

Coltrane’s own history demonstrates the reach of such musical inheritance. His classic quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones produced some of the defining recordings of modern jazz, while his continuing exploration took his music through expansive compositional, improvisational and spiritual territory.

Trane At 100 considers what becomes possible when history is treated not as an artifact, but as a living source of imagination.

5-0 Studios London uplifts legacy driven storytelling and the preservation of significant cultural voices. The organization’s previous jazz recognition has encompassed a community of artists whose contributions helped define multiple eras of the music. This undertaking has also continued through the 5-0 Studios London Ambassadors Legends of Legendary Awards, recognizing individuals whose careers represent meaningful contributions to music, culture and the performing arts.

Recent honorees include performing artist Windy Barnes, recipient of the International Lifetime Achievement Award, and founder of The Red Cantaloupe Experience Robert J. Carmack, recipient of the International Iconic Legacy Award, and the International Lifetime Achievement Award. The company has also honored acclaimed guitarist Ray Bailey and saxophonist and composer Dale Fielder with the Legends of Legendary Award. In 2025, 5-0 London and Red Cantaloupe honored the legacy of poet (‘griot’) Father Amde Hamilton, bestowing him with the Cultural Icon Award in poetry, music and community service in recognition of legacy and outstanding accomplishment in the performing arts.

This event provides an opportunity for audiences to experience the philosophy behind that larger mission. It is more than an evening of remembrance. It is an invitation to listen again. To hear the architecture inside the improvisation, to recognize the spiritual search within the sound. Also to understand that one hundred years after John Coltrane entered the world, musicians are still responding to questions his music dared to ask.