This 16mm film is a documentary segment focusing on the life of Alice Coltrane and her children in the wake of the death of her husband, famed jazz magician John Coltrane.
Description
The 16mm color film print is a short documentary made for a segment of National Education Television's Black Journal television program. The segment focuses on the life of Alice Coltrane and her children in the wake of the death of her husband, famed jazz magician John Coltrane. This film was shot sometime during 1970; three years after the death of John Coltrane.
Consists of: 16mm Film (a).
2012.79.1.16.1a: 16mm film. This film opens with a collage of photos of jazz musician John Coltrane with a voice-over of a male narrator communicating the musical genius and personal demeanor of the renowned music artist. The voice-over ends with an open-ended statement on John Coltrane's family; leading into an interview with his wife, Alice Coltrane. Alice Coltrane discusses the influence her late husband has had on her life, both musically and spiritually. She speaks of him being a spiritual person, although not tied to one organized religion, his vegetarian diet, and the how he carved time out of his days to meditate. There is footage of their children playing in the yard and walking with their mother. Alice plays the harp and talks about how her music is a manifestation of her spirituality. She discusses her musical career and how she balances that with being a mother and paying tribute to her late husband, but also not wanting to be defined as an extension of John Coltrane's music. Instead, when she finds herself playing some of the music he wrote, she sees herself as sharing in what he produced throughout his career. Footage of her playing the piano at a small jazz concert with a few other musicians plays for two minutes. In the final minutes of the segment, Alice Coltrane explains her relationship with a higher power and the personal enlightenment she has felt and gained through meditation. The film ends with a dolly-out/zoom-out long shot of Alice Coltrane and her children waving from their home.
A Meteor Light & Sound brand Clubman one-one mixer. The body has wooden sides, slanting down towards the front, medium brown in color, with screws holding it to the body of the machine. There is one screw in each corner, on each side. The front and back sides of the mixer are metal, black in color. The front side is shorter (approx. 2 3/4 in. in height) and the back side is taller (approx. 7 in. in height), so the top face of the machine is slanted down towards the front. The top facade contains the main switchboard which is black metal with silver type and outlines. The title at the top of the main switchboard reads: [CLUBMAN one-one] on the left and [meteor LIGHt &SOUnD] on the right. There are three columns on the top defined by a silver boarder. The boarder has rectangular rounded edges. The top left column has a small circular red light, labeled [POWER] below. Underneath the top left column, the bottom left contains a vertical sliding level, labeled [PHONES/LEVEL]. The middle column contains a switch, labeled [TALKOVER], with [IN] above and [OUT] below. Underneath, there is another vertical sliding level, labeled [MIC LEVEL]. At the bottom on the left, there are two circular inputs, labeled [PHONES] in the left column, and [MIC] in the middle column. The right column is twice as big as the two columns to the left. At the top there is a switch labeled, [LO-FILTER], with [IN] on the top and [OUT] on the bottom. Underneath, there are two vertical sliding levels below, labeled [TURNTABLES]. The label is centered between the two levels, with a number [2] to the left, and arrows pointing away from [TURNTABLES]. Underneath, there is a horizontal sliding level labeled: [CROSSFADER]. The label is centered with a number [2] on the left, and arrows pointing away from word [CROSSFADER]. At the bottom, there are two switches, both have [CUE] labeled above and [OUT] labeled below. The front facade has nothing on it. The back facade has white type at the center top, which reads: [CAUTION! / TO PREVENT ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT REMOVE BOTTOM / OR SIDE PANELS. THERE ARE NO USER-SERVICABLE / PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.]. Underneath the type, there are four sets of bullet plug inputs for RCA connector type cords. The two on the left are labeled above as: [INPUTS] with the far left labeled: [PHONO-1] and the right labeled: [PHONO-2]. The two on the right are labeled above as [OUTPUTS] with the left labeled: [A (1.5V)] and the far right labeled: [B (150MV)]. To the left of the plugs, another label reads: [L/R] and lines up with all four plugs, labeling top as [L] and bottom as [R]. Each plug has two large ports (one of top of each other) in the center, with four smaller ports in each corner surrounding the main two. To the right of the plugs, in white type, reads: [MODEL 111A / 105-125 VAC / 50-60 HZ / 3 WATTS MAX.]. At the bottom, in white type, aligned to the right, reads [METEOR LIGHT & SOUND CO. / SYOSSET. N.Y., USA]. Above that type is a black plastic knob. A brown cord is connected in the bottom right corner, above the type. The brown cord has a two-prong metal plug at the end. There is an inscription in the top right corner, etched by hand. The bottom is a silver metal square with four black plastic feet, at each corner.