Home » Member Page
Christine Passarella
Educator and Founder of Kids for Coltrane
About Me
I will further develop my existing relationship with the jazz community by writing my All About Jazz column, “Beauty, Love, and Justice: Living A Coltranian Life. “ My interviews will be with people who live what I call a “Coltranian” life. I will share the stories of unique individuals who follow their own on voices, sounds, and passions in a world that often times tries to make us echoes and not originals. Somehow, someway the interviewees rose up and stay true to being forces for good through original and courageous paths. My Kids for Coltrane builds on character education and the students listen and analyze jazz, America’s classical music and connect to it through their own lens on life. The connections continue as we also share other genres of music. The program cultivates an environment of respect bringing out individual talent, discipline, skills, and critical thinking offering transformative education to the younger generation while appreciating blues and jazz. I also connect John Coltrane's life and music to the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, as both men dedicated their lives to humanity and were forces for good. Kids for Coltrane was written about in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and in the book At the Jazz Band Ball: Sixty Years on the Jazz Scene by Nat Hentoff, who became my mentor. The program will also be featured in an upcoming DVD version of the documentary Chasing Trane. Due to these experiences, I have been asked to present at organizations such as the Smithsonian, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the United Federation of Teachers, and Adelphi University. Meeting many outstanding people while on this journey has been an extraordinary blessing in my life. I am excited about sharing stories through my unique lens. My hope is that these interviews and stories will bring inspiration and also be a gift to our youth. www.kidsforcoltrane.com
My Articles
