Coltrane 100: Both Directions at Once

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 has also received numerous awards from Jazz Times  and the Jazz Journalists Association for Tenor Saxophone, Album of the Year and Musician of the Year.  

Born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 29, 1952 he attended the famed Berklee College of Music in Boston where years later he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate. Since 2001 he has held the Gary Burton Chair in Jazz Performance and is a founding faculty member since 2009 of the Global Jazz Institute at Berklee directed by Danilo Pérez. He is a guest lecturer at New York University’s Jazz Program, Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music as well as Clinician at Universities around the globe.  

From 1991 through 2016, Lovano released an unprecedented 25 records as a leader for the historic Blue Note Records. In 2021, Lovano released Other Worlds, his third album with Sound Prints, a quintet he co-leads with trumpeter Dave Douglas. The next year brought a collaboration with guitarist Jakob Bro, Once Around the Room: A Tribute to Paul Motian. Most recently, Lovano released his third Trio Tapestry recording entitled, Our Daily Bread.  

Joe has performed and recorded with a long list of jazz greats including Woody Herman, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Mel Lewis, Bob Brookmeyer, Paul Motian, Bill Frisell, Tony Bennett, Abbey Lincoln, Charlie Haden, John Scofield, Gunther Schuller, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Ed Blackwell, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Hank Jones, Dave Liebman, Michael Brecker, Dave Douglas, Judi Silvano, Ravi Coltrane, Chucho Valdés, Ornette Coleman, Diana Krall, and many others. Joe has created an extensive body of work for his own ensembles including strings, woodwinds, his horn-rich Nonet, the Classic Quartet, Trio Tapestry, and more.  

Melissa Aldana is an internationally acclaimed saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, celebrated for her distinctive voice in jazz and her ability to seamlessly blend tradition with innovation. Born in Santiago, Chile, she discovered her passion for music at an early age, inspired by her father, a professional saxophonist. She began her formal studies on the tenor saxophone at the age of 12, immersing herself in the jazz canon and drawing inspiration from legendary players such as Sonny Rollins and Don Byas. 

In 2013, Melissa became the first female instrumentalist and the first South American to win the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition, propelling her onto the global stage. Since then, she has established herself as a powerful voice in contemporary jazz, earning 2 Grammy nominations and accolades for her unique approach to composition and improvisation. 

A Blue Note recording artist, Melissa has released critically acclaimed albums, including 12 Stars and Echoes of the Inner Phophet, which highlight her rich storytelling, virtuosic technique, and deep emotional connection to her music. Her work often explores themes of identity, self-discovery, and resilience, resonating with audiences across the globe. 

In addition to leading her own quartet, Melissa is a highly sought-after collaborator, performing with some of the most respected names in jazz. Her artistry has graced iconic venues and festivals worldwide, from the Village Vanguard in New York City to international stages across Europe, Asia, and South America. 

Beyond performing, Melissa is deeply committed to education and mentorship. She regularly conducts workshops and masterclasses, inspiring the next generation of jazz musicians. 

Nduduzo Makhathini grew up in the lush and rugged hillscapes of uMgungundlovu in South Africa, a peri-urban landscape in which music and ritual practices were symbiotically linked. The area is significant historically as the site of the Zulu king Dingane kingdom between 1828 and 1840. It is important to note that the Zulu, in fact the African warrior code, is deeply reliant on music for motivation and healing. This deeply embedded symbiosis is key to understanding Makhathini’s vision. 

Through his mentor Mseleku, Makhathini was introduced to the music of John Coltrane’s classic quartet with McCoy Tyner. “I came to understand my voice as a pianist through John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme,” he says. “As someone who started playing jazz very late, I had always been looking for a kind of playing that could mirror or evoke the way my people danced, sung and spoke. Tyner provided that and still does in meaningful ways.”

Active as an educator and researcher, Makhathini is the head of the music department at Fort Hare University in the Eastern Cape. He has performed at renowned festivals including the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and the Essence Festival (in both New Orleans and South Africa), and in 2019 made his debut appearances the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City, as well as Jazz at Lincoln Center where he was a featured guest with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on their 3-night musical celebration The South African Songbook in Rose Theater. He is a member of Shabaka Hutchings’ band Shabaka and the Ancestors appearing on their 2016 album Wisdom of Elders, and has also collaborated with artists including Logan Richardson, Nasheet Waits, Tarus Mateen, Stefon Harris, Billy Harper, Azar Lawrence, and Ernest Dawkins. 

In addition to producing albums for his peers (such as Thandiswa Mazwai’s Belede and Tumi Mogorosi’s Project Elo), Makhathini has released eight albums of his own since 2014 when he founded the label Gundu Entertainment in partnership with his wife and vocalist Omagugu Makhathini. Those albums earned him multiple awards and include Sketches of Tomorrow (2014), Mother Tongue (2014), Listening to the Ground (2015), Matunda Ya Kwanza (2015), Icilongo: The African Peace Suite (2016), Inner Dimensions (2016), and Reflections (2016). His 2017 album Ikhambi was the first to be released on Universal Music South Africa and won Best Jazz Album at the South African Music Awards (SAMA) in 2018. His Blue Note debut Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds was released in 2020 to wide critical acclaim earning many end of the year “Best Of” lists. 

Based in New York City, GRAMMY award-winning Linda May Han Oh is a bassist/composer who has performed and recorded with artists such as Pat Metheny, Kenny Barron, Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas, Terri Lyne Carrington, Steve Wilson, Geri Allen and Vijay Iyer.

Born in Malaysia and raised in Boorloo (Perth), Western Australia, she has received many awards including a 2022 Deutscher Jazz Preis and was voted the 2018-2021, 2023-2025 Bassist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist’s Association, as well 2022 Bassist of the Year in Jazztimes. Linda also was voted 2019 Bassist of the Year in Hothouse Magazine and was the 2020 recipient APRA award for Best New Jazz Work. In 2023 she received the prestigious Herb Albert Award for music and received an Honorary Doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music in 2024.

Linda has had five releases as a leader which have received critical acclaim, her latest – a quintet album entitled The Glass Hours on Biophilia Records. Her latest commissions include “Littoral Tales” a solo piano piece in two movements for Gloria Cheng, and “Ephemeral Echoes” written for percussion trio and piano trio as well as “Mirrors and Shadows” written for piano and bass duo.

Linda has written for large and small ensembles as well as for film, participating in the Sundance Labs at Skywalker Ranch. Most recently she scored “Sorority Story” by film maker Kathryn Smith Pyle. Linda also composed music for a collaborative film project with non-profit, “Hoperaisers” based in Korogocho, Kenya by Kizito Gamba and contributed music to his latest documentary “Calling the Shots” co-directed by Kore Abong about aspiring African women in the film-industry.

Currently Linda is working on an commission entitled “Invisible Threads” for the Melbourne Jazz Festival 2025.

Linda is currently Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music. Linda was featured on bass in the 2020 Pixar movie “Soul” under the musical direction of Jon Batiste (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) alongside drummer Roy Haynes and was the model for the character in the film – bassist “Miho.”

Jeff “Tain” Watts is one of the most in demand jazz drummers in the world today. Jeff Watts majored in classical percussion at Pittsburgh’s Duquesne University, where he was primarily a timpanist, followed by enrollment at the Berklee School of Music, where he pursued jazz studies alongside such talented players as Branford Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks, Greg Osby, Aimee Mann, Steve Vai and Marvin “Smitty” Smith. Jeff joined the Wynton Marsalis Quartet in 1981 and proceeded to win three Grammy Awards with the ensemble. Watts left Wynton Marsalis in 1988. After working with George Benson, Harry Connick. Jr. and McCoy Tyner, he joined the Branford Marsalis Quartet in 1989.

Jeff has worked in the film and television industry as both a musician on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and as an actor, Rhythm Jones in Spike Lee’s “Mo Better Blues”. Jeff joined Kenny Garrett’s band after returning to New York in 1995 after three years in LA on the Tonight Show. Watts also continued to record and tour with Branford Marsalis as well as Danilo Perez, Michael Brecker, Betty Carter, Kenny Kirkland, Courtney Pine, Geri Allen, Alice Coltrane, Greg Osby, Steve Coleman, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Ravi Coltrane.

Jeff has an extensive discography as a side-man, as well as six albums as a leader: “WATTS” (Dark Key Music 2009) “Folk’s Songs (Dark Key Music 2007) “Detained, Live at the Blue Note” (Half Note 2004) “MegaWatts” (Sunnyside 2004) “Bar Talk” (Sony 2002) and “Citizen Tain” (Sony 1999) Along with explosive power, blinding speed and mastery of complex rhythms and time signatures, Watts brings a rare sense of elegance, tried-by-fire composure, and a gritty street funk to his music. His artistic ingenuity expresses itself in his incomparable technique, sweltering sense of swing, and an extraordinary ability to imbue his music with majestic grace and elegant repose. A true jazz innovator, Watts never fails to deliver the percussive magic that has been his trademark since his emergence on the contemporary jazz scene.