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After erroneous reports had circulated that John Coltrane’s house was headed for demolition, confirmation came that it’s safe and sound. CBS-3 Philly was first to debunk the false alarm after prominent sources had spread the misinformation internationally. The contractor at a neighboring property slated for demolition, on North 33rd Street, has to protect adjacent structures. Coltrane’s is a National Historic Landmark. He’d lived there from 1952 through 1958, a span that saw Giant Steps, Blue Train, and collaborations with Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis.
Miles away, in Queens, New York, a second National Historic Landmark, Louis and Lucille Armstrong’s home, was reinvigorated this weekend with a virtual walkthrough. Rooms were open, stories shared, documents discussed, and music played. And today is International Women’s Day: Queens Public Library, near the house, is streaming a celebration of women in jazz, as are the Detroit Jazz Festival, led by artist-in-residence Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Blue Note Records, with a well-chosen playlist.
A deeper dive: Sherrie Tucker’s Swing Shift: “All-Girl” Bands of the 1940s, Angela Davis’ Blues Legacies and Black Feminism, Val Wilmer’s Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This: My Life in the Jazz World, and Sally Placksin’s American Women in Jazz: 1900 to the Present. For music right now: Geri Allen’s tribute to Mary Lou Williams from Harlem Stage.
