Jazz News — The ‘Pec building doomed? New space for music education at MSU Denver, Coltrane’s Philly home to be restored

This is Jazz News, a look at what’s news in jazz, music and the arts.

The fate of the El Chapultepec building is explored in a March 12 article at the website BusinessDen.com.  Writer Thomas Gounley quotes landowner Kenneth Monfort, who says the building is unsafe due to unpermitted work by an earlier owner, and now they’re planning to rebuild the plot entirely, including the space next door that houses the Giggling Grizzly.

Opposing the redevelopment, Historic Denver has joined up with bassist Ron Bland and former councilwoman and civic leader Elbra Wedgeworth to file a Landmark designation, which would prevent demolition of The Pec building, and they’re hoping for a compromise solution with the Monfort development group under the banner “Save the ‘Pec!”

Monfort promises to find other ways to embrace the historical legacy of El Chapultepec in Denver, which includes so many world famous musicians, and a visit from President Bill Clinton.

Meanwhile, the debate rages on Facebook. (SOURCE: El Chapultepec Building) (SOURCE: SAVE THE PEC!)

One more music real estate story… MSU-Denver has officially taken ownership of the space they’ve been leasing at 8th and Kalamath. The MSU-Denver Foundation closed on the property in January. Trumpeter and bandmate in Kneebody Shane Endsley coordinates the building, which facilitates MSU-Denver’s collaborations with community groups like the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts. The MSU-Denver magazine Red says the space is helping groups like the CCJA really scale up to work with hundreds of middle school and high school musicians each month. (SOURCE: MSU Denvers Newest Space/Gives Young Musicians A Place to Call Home)

Cut line under photo: John Coltrane’s home at 1511 North 33rd Street within Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion District that he purchased in 1952. Library of Congress

Oh, let’s do one more. This story is from Philadelphia and reported in the NY Times. John Coltrane’s Philadelphia rowhouse, a National Historic Landmark since 1999, is to be repaired and restored, thanks to the African-American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, with support from the Andrew Mellon Foundation.

The home has long been in the Coltrane family, and son Ravi says much of the music on the “Blue Train” was written on the upright piano in the home.

Brett Leggs with the Action Fund says they’re providing resources to families who have been preserving their history for centuries, but informally. Only two percent of 95,000 sites on the National Register of Historic Places center on the experiences of Black Americans, according to the action fund. (SOURCE: NY Times-John Coltrane House)

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