THE

HOME

Experience

Visiting the Home is an inspiring experience for people of all ages. Visitors will find meditation spaces, exhibits, rare Coltrane memorabilia, and an entirely refurbished recording studio, among other attractions. Each element of the design functions to support the collective themes of The Coltrane Home project to educate, create and elevate.

This portal into the lives of landmark American artists enlarges understanding of the significant works of art made in the Home as well as providing an immersive opportunity to take in the historical, creative and social context of the times the Coltranes were living and creating in the Home. Examining how the artists worked, lived, and took care of a family while reaching new heights in music and spirituality, the Home will provoke deep connection with the Coltranes’ artistry, innovation, autodidacticism, intellect, and spiritual commitment.

As a museum, the space will lay out historical contexts and cultural foundations integral to the Coltrane world. The location in suburban Long Island tells a story of an American dream manifested by trailblazing African American artists in the mid 1960s and early 1970s. Stylistically, the midcentury decor bursting with color and influences from the Coltranes’ wide interest in other cultures and spirituality further illustrates this narrative. The Home is designed to be a vital and engaging space with very little kept behind a velvet rope. Visitors will hear the music made in the Home as well as have the ability to take a class or meditate. Inspired by John Coltrane’s practice of putting “notes in uneven groups like fives and sevens in order to get them all in,” the back garden is designed to replicate the flow of a jazz chord progression.

Featured Exhibits:

Living room / lobby

Interactive introduction featuring biographical texts, music, original furnishings, family instruments

Meditation room featuring the restored Rose Window, yoga classes, and guided spiritual practice

Rehabilitated kitchen featuring the “Coltrane is” audio/video display

Upstairs bedroom, site of A Love Supreme composition with photos, scores, handwritten notes, and poems from the process

Basement studio, site of Alice Coltrane’s Impulse! Records sessions, featuring exhibits about her life and work

Meditation garden

I want to be a force for good

John Coltrane

The Music is in your heart, your soul, your spirit

Alice Coltrane