Musicians who played with John Coltrane at Temple reflect on historic concert 60 years later

Sixty years after John Coltrane took the stage at Temple University for what would become his final concert in Philadelphia, two of the musicians who performed alongside the jazz legend returned Wednesday to reflect on a night that became part of jazz history. Saxophonist Dr. Steven Knoblauch and percussionist Robert Kenyatta joined musicians, historians and members of the greater jazz community at Temple for the 2026 Jazz Philadelphia Summit: Offering Edition, commemorating the 60th anniversary of Coltrane's Nov. 11, 1966, performance at Mitten Hall. Knoblauch was 18 years old when he was invited to sit in with Coltrane, but he'll tell you he had been preparing for that moment for a while. "I was told to practice, practice, practice — and I knew that Coltrane sometimes invited young people to play," Knoblauch said. "After [Alice Coltrane's] solo, Trane came over to me, and said, 'Do you want to play a solo?' I said, 'Yeah.'" Knoblauch ended up soloing for several minutes on "My Favorite Things," now the last track on the album "Offering: Live at Temple University." At the time, neither Knoblauch nor Kenyatta could have known how significant the concert would become. "Oh, I was shocked," Kenyatta said. "Because I didn't know that was happening, or anybody even recorded it." The Temple performance, which had been recorded and broadcast by Temple radio station WRTI, circulated for years before it was released in 2014, with the blessing of Coltrane's family. Wednesday's summit brought Knoblauch and Kenyatta back to Temple to share firsthand memories of performing with Coltrane and to discuss the spiritual and musical impact he continued to have on their lives. "He was one of the greatest musicians that lived on this planet, but he was very humble," Kenyatta said. The gathering also explored the historical significance of "Offering," a recording that captures Coltrane during one of the final and most experimental periods of his career. "It is a very important album in terms of where Coltrane was sonically," Dr. Anyabwile Love, a professor of Black Studies at Temple University, said. "He's stretching out the music. In the recordings, he's screaming into the microphone and banging on his chest — making these kinds of guttural utterances — you know, offering to the creator." Coltrane's connection to Philadelphia stretches far beyond the 1966 concert. Jazz Philadelphia describes Coltrane's time in the city of Brotherly Love as his "coming of age" musically, living in Strawberry Mansion in the 1950s . Organizers said the summit was intended not only to examine Coltrane's legacy, but also to challenge musicians and artists today to consider what they can contribute to the generations that follow. Dr. Anyabwile moderated one of the two panels. "Focusing on local jazz musicians — how do we support them?" Anyabwile said. "This kind of duality of 'offering' — to give and receive. What does that look like in terms of the audience supporting the artists?" An accompanying exhibition from Temple University's Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection brought visitors even closer to Coltrane's life and work. The exhibition, co-curated by Shawn Theodore, included rare photographs, original handwritten musical manuscripts and an attaché case Coltrane used to carry his music. Theodore said one of his favorite parts about the exhibition is Coltrane's personal quotes that accompany many of his photos. "He is very spiritual about his work, and so to see his words in this space, it feels like a very spiritual full circle moment," Theodore said. As visitors got up close and personal with Coltrane's history, Knoblauch reflects on a memory that no exhibit can hold: how Coltrane made him feel once they stepped offstage on that day in 1966. "He gave me a big bear hug," Knoblauch said. "It seemed like I did the right thing." The summit is part of Coltrane 100 Philly, a citywide celebration marking what would have been the saxophonist's 100th birthday year. The celebration continues Thursday night at Temple University, where Coltrane's son, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, will perform with an all-star group of jazz musicians in a concert commemorating the 60th anniversary of the historic Temple performance. In: Pennsylvania Philadelphia Featured Local Savings