
It
took a trip to California and to a church dedicated to John Coltrane to get Pam
and myself into a place of worship and meditation.
The
church in question, the St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church on Turk
Street, San Francisco, was founded half a century ago by Marina and Franzo King
following a visit on their first wedding anniversary to the city’s Jazz
Workshop to hear Coltrane play A Love
Supreme. They underwent a religious experience not dissimilar to Coltrane’s
in 1957 and were inspired to launch a jazz-based church under a succession of
names including the Yardbird Temple (they viewed Charlie Parker as John the
Baptist to John Coltrane) in a succession of different locations mostly close
to Fillmore Street, known in the ‘40s and ‘50s as the Harlem of the West for
its dozens of jazz clubs.

In
1981 they were invited to join the national fellowship of the (Episcopalian)
African Orthodox Church and with the granting of sainthood to John Coltrane by
the national church adopted the name they have today. It appears that not only
the Roman Catholic Church has the power to bestow sainthood.
We
attended the monthly guided meditation on the music of Coltrane’s A Love Supreme rather than a normal
service. The church was decorated with images of Coltrane painted in the style
of icons by Rev. Mark Dukes, a deacon of the church. The air was filled with
incense and a recording of Coltrane’s My
Favorite Things.
A
nearly full house ranging from teenaged skate-boarders through to retirees, a
fairly typical jazz audience plus the added youth element, listened to a young
female cleric, Rev. Wanika Stevens, talk about Coltrane’s religious philosophy
as expressed in A Love Supreme. The
record was played and in the first movement, Acknowledgement, we chanted the words “A Love Supreme” nineteen
times in unison with Coltrane. In the fourth and final movement, we spoke in
unison with Rev Stevens.
The
music, from Messrs Coltrane, Tyner, Garrison and Jones was as magnificent as
ever and listening, eyes-closed, together with a large group of people did add
something to the experience. Not I admit the intense experiences reported by
some of the younger people when Rev. Stevens talked us down but she should have
asked me back in the ‘60s when I bought the album.
Next
to address us was a tall slim black man in a smart black suit, very much present
around the church all afternoon, and now
introduced by Rev Wanika as Archbishop Franzo King, one of the church’s
joint founders, who introduced his wife’s sister, Ann Mack, to sing an
unaccompanied Body and Soul. The two sisters, he told us, were daughters of
an Armstrong Hot 5 trombonist (Kid Ory?)
Deep
voiced and full of feeling; secular rather than spiritual was how Ms Mack’s
voice and her performance struck us. Even given the traditions of black church
music this version of Body and Soul came
as quite a surprise. The names on her CV fitted with the performance: Teddy
Edwards, Blue Mitchell, “Cleanhead” Vinson and Ray Brown.
With
the end of Ann Mack’s song came the return of the Archbishop who, despite his
official title of His Eminence The Most Reverend Archbishop F.W. King D.D.
Archbishop Jurisdiction of the West, absolutely exemplified the delightful
informality of this church, in that his serious message was expressed rather in
the throw-away style of a hip stand-up comedian. He also had a lot to say about
how, as a boy and a young man he learned to differentiate the styles of different
jazz musicians.
After
serving us chunks of freshly baked communion bread (and he stressed: not the
pathetic biscuits as in most churches) and substantial cups of wine, he took
out his tenor and invited any musicians present to come and join him and play.

I
guess you’d have to leave pretty early for your bus Lance, so to make the trip
worthwhile I suggest you aim for the church’s 50th birthday service
at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral when all St John’s clergy – the majority of
who are musicians – should be present, and if they’re all as good as the
Archbishop the event should be worth reviewing.
Pam and Dave
P.S.
Rev. Wanika Stevens was very interested to hear from Pam and I that quite a
number of US musicians have made the trip to Newcastle. The musicians within
the church already travel within the US to play. Anyone fancy hosting a visit?
2 comments :
Fantastic! Must pay a visit sometime.
Ditto!
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