Saint John Coltrane Arts
Youth music education and cultural enrichment in San Francisco, guided by the spiritual and artistic legacy of John Coltrane.
Mission
St John Coltrane Arts, based in San Francisco, California, is a charitable organization dedicated to providing inclusive creative music education and cultural enrichment to underserved youth and young adults in San Francisco. Our commitment is to uplift lives through the transformative power of music guided by the artistic and spiritual work and legacy of the master American Jazz, St John Coltrane. We are a cross-cultural and cross-generational organization, and founders Archbishop Reverend King and Reverend Mother Marina King have been serving the San Francisco and SF Bay Area as a Global Spiritual Community for six decades with the song and word of “A Love Supreme” 1965.
Our curriculum-based multi-disciplinary music program integrates music theory, performance, and the science of sound. The program fosters creativity, discipline, and community engagement, serving as a vehicle for personal growth and academic enrichment. Our team includes university-level instructors with professional musicians and educators mentoring students in individual and ensemble settings.
The program develops musical talent and also provides a safe and nurturing environment supporting self-expression, collaboration, and purpose. Focusing on the art and science of music, we inspire participants to connect music with broader educational and career pathways. Rooted in musical training, our teaching extends beyond music to promote holistic development and access to opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable to our students.
Through this dedicated work, Saint John Coltrane Arts fosters a new generation of artists, thinkers, and leaders carrying forward a musical and thought-provoking legacy of Saint John Coltrane — fostering a new generation of compassion, excellence, and empowered creative spirit.
Events
We're planning what's next. In the meantime, revisit the music we've already made together.
Gallery
Charcoal & ink on paper, 30 × 36 inches. By Emory Douglas. A painting whose provenance is itself a story of San Francisco.
1972
Emory Douglas, Minister of Culture of the Black Panther Party, creates 'Coltrane' in comradely collaboration with Dr. Huey P. Newton, founder of the Party. The painting is gifted to His Eminence The Most Reverend Franzo W. King, then Yardbird Temple, Revolutionary Church of the Hour, in honor of his dutiful service to the San Francisco and Oakland communities.
1972 – 2024
For half a century, the painting lives with the congregation that became Saint John Will-I-Am Coltrane African Orthodox Church / Global Spiritual Community, a quiet testament to a Black radical artistic lineage.
2024
Douglas returns to the painting fifty-two years later and signs it again, '1972 · 2024', marking its passage and its renewed purpose. Four artist proofs and a limited edition of twenty are produced with Magnolia Editions.
2025
Spike Lee acquires an artist proof of 'Coltrane' as a contribution to the Saint John Coltrane Arts Foundation, a youth education program in music and sound. His visit to ARTS SPACE on Post Street at Union Square is documented in the photograph below.
As Seen On
A look inside the congregation, the music, and the lineage of the painting.
Board of Directors
Founder & Chair
Co-founder of the Saint John Will-I-Am Coltrane African Orthodox Church. A lifelong advocate for the spiritual and cultural power of John Coltrane's music as a vehicle for community uplift in San Francisco.
Co-Founder & Vice Chair
Co-founder of the Coltrane Church and a steward of the congregation for more than four decades. Vocalist, minister, and a guiding force for the Foundation's youth education mission.
Support the Work
Your donation supports creative curriculum-based music learning for underserved youth and young adults in San Francisco with experienced university-level teachers and professional musicians.
Saint John Coltrane Arts is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. All gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.