Saxophonist Branford Marsalis and vocalist Dianne Reeves are bringing their tribute to John Coltrane to Lafayette's Heymann Performing Arts Center on Sunday, September 27, part of a run of performances built around a new album honoring the jazz giant. The pairing draws heavily on Coltrane's 1963 collaboration with singer Johnny Hartman, reworking that record's ballads for a new generation of listeners.
The album, called Dedicated to You, is described as a new album honoring John Coltrane, according to jazzchill.blogspot.com. It leans on the 1963 Impulse! classic John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, the same site reports, and features new versions of the six standards from that original session along with additional instrumental performances drawn from Coltrane's repertoire.
Reeves joins Marsalis' longtime quartet — pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner — on the recording. Marsalis told frontview-magazine.be, “I wanted to take a road less travelled,” explaining his decision to build the project around the Coltrane-Hartman songbook rather than Coltrane's more famous instrumental works.
A Lafayette Stop on a Wider Run
The Lafayette show is one date on a schedule the frontview-magazine.be report lists as running through multiple cities, with the Heymann Performing Arts Center date confirmed for September 27. Marsalis said the group planned to keep exploring Coltrane's music as the tour continues, telling the outlet that deeper exploration is something we will continue to do when we begin touring with Dianne in the fall.
Marsalis' quartet — consisting of Marsalis, Calderazzo, Revis and Faulkner, per the same account — has built its reputation over years of steady collaboration, and the addition of Reeves marks a notable pairing of two decorated jazz veterans. The Branford Marsalis website lists the pair's upcoming dates under a banner describing the shows as a celebration: Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves celebrate John Coltrane, according to branfordmarsalis.com.
Two Decorated Careers, One Centennial
Marsalis is a three-time Grammy winner, while Reeves has won five Grammys, according to globalnews.ca. Both musicians have also been designated Jazz Masters by the National Endowment for the Arts, the outlet notes — one of the highest honors in American jazz.
The timing is no accident. Globalnews.ca points out that September 2026 marks the centennial of one of jazz's greatest musicians, John Coltrane, giving the Coltrane-Hartman revival added resonance this year. Jazzchill.blogspot.com reports that Marsalis and Reeves plan an extensive schedule spanning North America and Europe as they carry the project beyond its initial dates.
Building on a 1963 Landmark
The original John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman album occupies a singular place in the saxophonist's catalog. Dedicated to You reimagines that material with Reeves stepping into the vocal role once filled by Hartman, backed by a quartet built around decades of shared musical chemistry with Marsalis at its center.
Branford Marsalis was raised in New Orleans, and Lafayette audiences will get a look at how the reworked Coltrane-Hartman songs translate to the stage during a tour that has already included performances elsewhere and continues afterward across the country and overseas, as previously reported by NOLA.com.
