Over a year ago, while going for a winter walk in my hometown of Huntington, I came across a historic marker in front of the house at 73 West Shore Road that announced that this was where Jupiter Hammon, America’s first African-American published poet, spent the last remaining years of his life.
I couldn’t believe it! Immediately, I was struck by the idea that history surrounds us like an odorless vapor, only for it to rise seemingly out of nowhere to remind us that it still lingers on. This was exactly the experience that I had a few years prior to the aforementioned experience, when I first learned that John Coltrane, one of America’s greatest jazz artists, wrote the compositions for his legendary album A Love Supreme in 1964 in the home that he shared with his wife Alice Coltrane (an equally talented musician) and their children in Dix Hills. As a fond lover of music, how did I not know this? Recently, I’ve latched onto this spiritual mist; perhaps you will find it just as intoxicating as I have.
The John and Alice Coltrane Home is located at 247 Candlewood Path; while the Home is currently being renovated, all are welcome to roam its grounds, known as the John Coltrane Park. What began as an effort by Steve Fulgoni, a Dix Hills resident and jazz music fan to save the home from being demolished is a site now registered as a Historic Place at the local, state, and national levels.
It has also been designated a National Treasure by the National Historic Trust For Preservation, and is listed as one of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. While the Town of Huntington
purchased the Home, the IRS 501 (c3) tax exempt organization “Friends of the Coltrane Home” vested the title, and its Board is actively engaged in being a “force for good” through its exhibits, interdisciplinary programming, and educational workshops.
I am grateful to have recently befriended its Executive Director, Marcella Goheen. Prior to this position, she worked for the American tap dancer Savion Glover for over 20 years and was
fortunate enough to travel the world. When she saw the opening for this position, she applied and landed the job. Intrigued by the position, I asked her what it entails:
“Fundraising, working with our consumers, working with community partners, working with the Founders and family, expanding the Leadership, and working to create the most impactful strategy & structures to sustain the Coltrane legacy for generations. Also, working daily to achieve meaningful engagement from those who know all about Coltrane – to the next generation and those who might not know anything.”
While Marcella eagerly awaits the opening of the Home, she honors the Coltrane legacy by viewing her work through a spiritual lens. “The doors couldn’t open soon enough to share what the world needs now: which is elevation, inspiration, healing and transformation,” Goheen shared.
“The impact of John & Alice’s contribution to the world is profound. The space is truly sacred, vibrational and healing.”
Thanks to local funding, the Home is able to provide programming; I have been fortunate enough to attend live performances in the last 3 months by jazz greats Camille Thurman, David Liebman and Dezron Douglas at the Dix Hills Community Library. While the state has contributed to portions of the build-out of the Home, it is also being privately supported through a humanities grant from the Andrew F. Mellon Foundation.
While Marcella is eternally grateful to the individual contributions that pour in from all over the world, if she could “wave her magic wand” and get what she wants for the Home, it would be “That we would receive a ten-million dollar endorsement which would help us to complete restoration of the Home, create an educational endowment for students and artist residencies –
and lead us to open our doors by our milestone of 2025. “
She adds, “This support would provide opportunities for a multigenerational impact to learn, carry and pass on the legacy to be a force for good. Living in a post-COVID-19 climate, where the world is recalibrating, and redefining itself through so much tribulation – it couldn’t happen soon enough! Being a force for good is what we want to impact through the Coltrane legacy!”
Alice Coltrane’s Huntington Ashram Monastery was recorded in May 1969.
The 58th anniversary of the recording of John Coltrane’s album Ascension is June 28.
To make a donation, visit: The John and Alice Coltrane Home – The Spiritual Home of Jazz (thecoltranehome.org)
