Tara Middleton & Jupiter Blue: Coltrane, Spirit and the Spaceways

The Philadelphia duo of vocalist and lyricist Tara Middleton and guitarist-composer DM Hotep takes John Coltrane’s compositions as departure points and reopens them through voice, guitar, and responsive electronics. Both are members of the Sun Ra Arkestra, and they carry Coltrane’s example of disciplined listening, spiritual searching, and musical freedom into new territory. Spoken word and song braid together, treating the voice the way Coltrane treated the horn. Short spoken introductions welcome every listener, no prior jazz knowledge needed. This is Coltrane honored through discovery, not imitation, hosted by St. Laurentius Parish at Holy Name of Jesus. A free evening bringing the centennial into a Philadelphia neighborhood room.

Tara Middleton is a Philadelphia jazz vocalist, violinist, flutist, composer, lyricist, and music educator, and the first female lead vocalist of the Sun Ra Arkestra in over twenty years, a role she has held since 2012. She is a two-time Grammy-nominated artist, writing lyrics for Swirling, the album that earned the Arkestra its first Grammy nomination. She co-founded Jupiter Blue Music Ltd. with her husband David Middleton. A Pennsylvania Council on the Arts master teaching artist, she teaches across Philadelphia-area schools and carries her framework, the voice as first instrument, into classrooms and community spaces throughout the city. Her work moves between the stage, the page, and the classroom, always rooted in the belief that the voice is the first instrument every person already owns

This project is an awardee of the Coltrane 100 Philly Community Project Grant.