It's actually scary to me that the final residence of unquestionably one of the greatest jazz icons of the twentieth century would even be under consideration for demolition. But, such was the case.
In any event, it was Steve's hope at the time to obtain a historic landmark status for the house and property, and then turn it into a museum (much like what was done to the Louis Armstrong House in Queens, New York) and make it the epicenter for educational jazz programming in the region. Fulgoni had heard of my jazz programming and wanted to see if I could design something that could be used for the Coltrane Home Foundation to center their educational efforts on.
Though I came up with a draft or two, I was unable to continue my participation at the time, because my performance schedule suddenly became more dense then it had been in years. Since that time, a board was formed and now efforts have been increased towards adding educational programming to both the Coltrane Home and to regional venues.
In August of 2012, I was greeted after an appearance that I was doing for my program "What's All That Jazz About?" by Steve Fulgoni, whom I hadn't communicated with in two or three years at that point, and a gentleman who introduced himself as Ron Stein. Long story short, they were looking to recruit me once again to design a program, or a series of programs, around the Coltrane Home Foundation. This time, my schedule wasn't as much of a factor. Not to mention, I had been searching for other projects to be a part of, as developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both of my hands had left my performance career in question.
As of right now, we are in the middle of refining a couple of programming ideas that I had submitted for consideration. Whether or not I am capable of actually performing on the saxophone anymore (I have actually been seriously considering retiring from performing, effective October, 2013), I plan to continue my involvement with the Coltrane Home.
After all, it isn't everyday that you're asked to help develop a centerpiece program for a foundation with a mandate to preserve the home of a major icon of American cultural history!
