Miles Davis and John Coltrane Tribute
Sunday, September 27
Show starts at 3PM
Topeka Performing
Arts Center
Miles Davis and John Coltrane Tribute Show
CONCERT OVERVIEW
In 2026, the jazz world marks the centennial of two of its most towering figures — Miles Davis and John Coltrane, both born in 1926. To honor the occasion, bassist Kurt Morrow has assembled a quintet of Kansas City’s finest, dedicated to channeling the spirit of Davis and Coltrane and the boundless sense of possibility they brought to jazz innovation. From the cool, searching lyricism of Miles to the soaring intensity of Coltrane — two artists whose paths famously crossed in Davis’s celebrated 1950s quintet — this is a celebration of music that continues to shape the sound of jazz a century on. Join us in the TPAC Main Auditorium as we open our 2026 season with a tribute to the legends.
ABOUT MILES DAVIS
Few musicians shaped the course of twentieth-century music like Miles Davis. Born in 1926 and raised in East St. Louis, Illinois, the trumpeter, bandleader and composer first made his name alongside Charlie Parker at the dawn of bebop before spending the next four decades reinventing jazz again and again. From the hushed elegance of Birth of the Cool to the modal beauty of Kind of Blue — still the best-selling jazz album of all time — to the electric storm of Bitches Brew, Davis had a singular gift for gathering the finest young players around him and pointing them toward the future. His trumpet voice — spare, lyrical and unmistakable — remains one of the most recognizable sounds in all of music.
ABOUT JOHN COLTRANE
If Miles Davis was jazz’s great architect, John Coltrane was its searching soul. Also born in 1926, the saxophonist rose to prominence in Davis’s mid-1950s quintet before embarking on one of the most profound solo journeys in the music’s history. His relentless “sheets of sound,” his harmonic daring on Giant Steps, and the deep spirituality of his masterpiece A Love Supreme expanded the very idea of what jazz could express. Though his life was cut short in 1967, Coltrane’s restless pursuit of beauty and meaning continues to inspire musicians and listeners across every generation.
ABOUT KURT MORROW
Bringing this centennial vision to the stage is bassist Kurt Morrow, who has assembled a quintet of Kansas City’s finest for the occasion. Together, these seasoned players share a deep reverence for the music of Davis and Coltrane and the fearless spirit of innovation both men embodied — promising an afternoon that honors the legends while celebrating the living, breathing art form they helped create.
