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Coltrane's piano is coming home
By Alexis Gines, Staff Writer
(Wednesday, May 25, 2005 8:32 am)
HIGH POINT -- A piece of John Coltrane's musical past is returning home to High Point.
The High Point Museum said Tuesday it has raised enough money to buy the jazz musician's piano from a New York City auction house.
Coltrane was born in Hamlet in 1926 and later lived in High Point. He and family members played the piano in their home here.
After Coltrane graduated from William Penn High School in High Point in 1943, he moved to Philadelphia. At some point, the piano went with him.
The jazz legend died at age 40. A family member donated the piano to the auction house.
The museum hopes to display the piano in July.
"I think what the exhibit needs to say -- the story it needs to tell -- is what the early musical influences were in John Coltrane's life and to share the story of his youth here," Barbara Taylor, the museum's president, said.
The museum launched its "88 Keys for Coltrane" campaign in April, asking people to "purchase" a piano key for $162.50 in order to raise $14,300.
After extending the campaign for one week, the museum raised $16,337.50.
Some donations came from outside North Carolina, which somewhat surprised Taylor.
"Most of them have a connection to High Point or are very strong jazz music lovers, or specifically love Coltrane's music and felt that this was a very important artifact to bring to High Point, to his home," Taylor said.
Extra money from the 88 Keys campaign will help conserve the piano and may be used for interpretive programs. Taylor said she hopes the piano will be played once and its music recorded so visitors can hear it.
The piano will add to other recent Coltrane additions. The museum also has purchased a fifth-grade report, a Down Beat award and three sheets of music with Coltrane's handwritten musical notations.
"We finally have some tangible artifacts that help us begin to tell his story," Taylor said.
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