Jeff Scott’s composition Passion for Bach and Coltrane is a concert-length Passion oratorio that combines elements from classical and jazz music. It features orator and poet A.B. Spellman, as well as wind quintet Imani Winds, string quartet Harlem Quartet, and jazz trio Alex Brown, Edward Perez, and Neal Smith.

Why do jazz musicians admire Bach?
Bach has always held such fascination for jazz players: namely form, structure and harmony. Way back in the 1920s, the Harlem “stride” piano pioneers honed their skills on the classical repertoire and men like Fats Waller and James P. Johnson knew their Bach along with their Gershwin and Irving Berlin.

Why John Coltrane?
His saxophone sound—brooding, searching, dark—is still one of the most recognizable in modern jazz. His influence stretches over styles and genres, and transcends cultural boundaries. The modern ideal of music serving a deeply spiritual, connective purpose? A defining facet of John Coltrane.