friday, january 12, 2007
Sax on the stairs
I want you to know Coltrane as I'm beginning to know him. Certainly not as intimately as his family and friends, but as one who truly wants to embody all that he was and all that he has come to mean to this world. These are pictures of a fish market in High Point, NC that Coltrane was said to have worked in as a youth. The building is called the Kilby Hotel, constructed in 1913 and owned by Nannie Kilby, a prominent African-American businesswoman. The fish market was located downstairs. The other picture is of the stairs in the back of the market. The story goes that during breaks, Coltrane would go outside and play his sax on the stairs. This building was deemed historical some years ago and is located in a historically black section of High Point. The area at one time housed lawyers, doctors, merchants and even a small hospital. A jazz club was located nearby as well. Older residents often boast of the many entertainers that once performed there, including Dizzy Gillespie and Nat King Cole. Coltrane himself never performed there. I can't help but wonder why. Once again I found myself standing at the fence and staring at those stairs. Imagining and listening.I think maybe I was born at the wrong time.
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