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My ‘husband loves them!” Chistne, Minnesota EXESIEIER A trustpiiot Dray use code 35V1 for FREE SHIPPING toorder Moleskin Pants (ef.mT20) peterchristianoutfitters.comVol. 54 | No. 07 features TRACING A LOST MN ANCESTRY 34 For African Americans, tracking thelr heritage poses unique challenges by Tracy Scott Forson 36 HOMECOMING Intimate journeys to Africa are introducing new generations to their ancestral continent, ‘by Rosalind Cummings- Yeates 48 CIVIL WAR HISTORY, REFRAMED A photo project hails American heroes by ‘connecting them with their descendants photographs by Drew Gardner tert by Jennie Rothenberg Gritz 64 ORIGIN STORIES Innovative genetic analysis ishelping a community totrace the tragic roots of slavery byMadaie Bender and Teddy Brokaw (2 E The Leatherback Guardians 16 Toprotectanendan- | 4g gered population of tur Ues around the isthmus | 9 28 30 32 ‘of Panama, a conserva- ton group has worked to sive them legal rights byNina Burleigh Januar «No Place Like Home Exiled Chinese artist Ai ‘Weiwel builds a hopeful new life—anda new studio—in Portugal by Jay Cheshes 102 Running Mates InSouth Sudan, conservationists have embraced a tall order: saving the world’s most imperiled giraffe by Alex Fox 104 Under the Surface The frame of Ai Weis stu in Portuga’ Alentejo region Iebult with exactly 100 wooden pilors. The design mirrors hls former studio in Shanghai, which authorities demolahed! A forensic biologist ‘who's traveled the world as prologue American leon George Washington's tent + His aides-de-camp Art: A foast fit for @ khan Genius: John Coltrane + Worshiping a legend Bartram's wake 5: Pickleball National Treasure: Epic whale Prehistory: Cave paintings solving crimes dives into shadowy new realm byJordan Michael Smith OW Institutional Knowledge by Lonnie G. Bunch il 07 Discussion 114 Crossword (Ourmonthly puzzle 420 Ask Smithsonian You've got questions. We've got experts 12 Cover: Jared Miler pores as Nis “oncestor chord Otter a soldier inthe 2oth Colored Infantry, ot Penumbra Tintupe Portal Sto in Now York Gry Photograph by Drew Gardner Jonuaty + February 2024 | sMTHBONAN 3institutional knowledge Smithsonian LONNIE G. BUNCH IIL, SECRETARY Side by Side ‘A NEW EXHIBITION AT THE SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM REUNITES THE WORK OF TWO PIONEERING 19TH-CENTURY ARTISTS > Robert Duncansan'=| 1859 ofl painting Landscape With Rainbow was ‘deployed at the US. Capel "during o ce bration Ident Joe Biden's inauguration. I! NAN ALCOVE IN the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAM), a new exhibition displays just 12 works: three landscape paintings by Robert S.Duncanson and nine photographs, including two daguerreotypes on sil- ver-coated copper plates, by James P. Ball. Duncanson and Ball were collaborators in the 19th century, but the Work of these Black artists~among, the first t0 be internationally recognized for their talent—has seldom been shown together since their deaths more than a century ago. A curatorial team at SAAM has po- tioned these works close to one another, just as they were at the heightof their popularity. Both artists lived in Cincinnati, once considered the western hub ofthe art world, where Ball opened. the Great Daguertian Gallery of the West. Duncanson worked with Ball asa colorist, Cincinnati sits on the banks of the Ohio River, which di- vides Kentucky from Ohio and, in their lifetimes, delineated between slavery and freedom. 4% swiTisoniaN | Januory + February 2024 MAGAZINE ‘The three Duncanson paintings in this exhibition ‘were selected for their images of sanctuary: a majes- tichillside home within a community of free African Americans and abolitionists; a waterfall in Quebec, Where Duncanson escaped rising racial tensions ‘amid the Civil War; and a rainbow on the northern, side of the Ohio River, where escaped slaves final- ly found freedom. To the untrained eye, these are nothing more than bucolic landscapes. For Duncan- son, though, they were a way to embed abolitionist ‘messaging in works that would still be palatable to his largely white clientele. Ball was part of a trio of prominent African Amer- can photographers who were among the first to make daguerreotypes. His works will be included alongside those of Glenalvin Goodridge and Augus- tus Washington in a permanent collection installa tion opening in 2026, which—by featuring the con- tributions of these three artists—presents a more complete history of early photography and the way it democratized portraiture by moving beyond sub- jects who could afford to commission paintings. care deeply about preserving that history: Black photography has been an integral part of my work since the start of my curatorial career at the Califor- nia African American Museum. Throughout history, Black people have used both the lens and the paint- brush as tools in the struggle for equality, and these three photographers are part of that origin story. Ball's works currently on display feature portraits of unnamed white subjects—including one Duncan- son likely hand-colored. The exhibition invites vist- torstoconsider the reality of Blackartistry inthe 19th, century, when the two artists worked side by side. Porteait illustration by Jurell CayetanoTO DODGE A DULL RETIREMENT The Main Advantages of Municipal Bonds nvestors a tb municipal bonds for s princips d the ree benefits. Together, the lements can make a compelling case for includir xX-free municipal thonds in your portal Potential Safety of Principal When investing in municipal bonds, investors are paid bac oN GUIDE FREE BOND eu Pe Oem a ONC Ta Tee Lad CALL (800) 901-0736 Paani oe Potential Tax-Free Income Income from municipal bonds is not subject to federal income tax and, depending an where yau live, may alsa be exemp from st local taxes. T an be a big a About Hennion & Walsh nce 1990 Hennion & Walsh has specialized in investme je tax-free municipal bonds. The company supervises i alg Our FREE Gift To You Il war Dw more abi enefits of ee Muni s. So our sf rave written a f Guide for inve liga HENNION WALSH1920s Style for a 1920s Price Smithsonian Institution [Base or Seo ee eee 1920s-themed party, and everyone was dressed tothe nines. Parked on the manse’ circular driveway was a beautiful classic convertible, Never ones to miss an opportunity, ‘we climbed into the car’ long front criet Pee ee Parner eS are! pare estat ir ‘nie Dr that accentuated the car's lent Kamala D. Haris Petree a ed dials inspired our 1920s Retrograde Watch, Ses pene net aed ores sca err eet ans an axis like most Se ee sweep ina semicircle, Seon starting point and begin all over again. Se aa Me Kenneth J Bacon, ent ene ena a thousands; but because weve | a designed the 1920s Retrograde ‘ Saeed See Peeper get care This watch isso wildly popular \ Michele J Sa 4 7 Scere ances at eee gee ® emecd re ee et Serena r + Stainless steel case, easeback and crown. " Foch Mr eas ret ets C. yen Me Morgan aCe Tt y Ser Seca a SUSU errno ea Cte Ms OM ead eas pompiede Weald timepiece.” Hen en Bor i He ern er — Carlos C., Los Banos, CA Sokurake Dicer Mr. atic ra, Jean B, Mahe Paul Neely 1-800-333-2045 sear og Sa eC Rect Cem cl EO Cae aCe Pre Ud ome Un Roane need Stauer’ | arrorp THE EXTRAORDINARY 6 suirasonun | January + Februarydiscussion Smithsonian Replace the y odds ts? y a “Artificial intelligence is brainless: It docs only Whiat itis told to do.” Dignity and Respect was pleased to see the column by Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch in the December 2023 Issue ("Course Correction"). Repatriation of hu- ‘man remains now held in the Smithsonian's col lections is something that all museums and other historical organizations should be pursuing. How many people today would think it appropriate sometime in the future for their bodies or the bodies of thetr family members to be dug up from their “final resting place” and carted off for that future generation to study? All remains, but par ticularly those of sentient beings, should be man- aged with dignity and respect for the lives they represent, My thanks to Mr. Bunch for presenting this important information, Jay Paul | Hillsboro, Oregon Thank you for recognizing the harm and damage that has been done in the name of science study- ing human remains. Realizing the unethical prac tice of finding and removing human remains to proclaim white supremacy and now looking to Meet Smithsonian's imalists on our ew podoast, “There's More toThat.” MAGAZINE XOG x¢rwirteRy: @SmithsonianMag InsTAGRAM: @smithsorionmagazine ACEBOOK: smithsonionmagezine find ways to repatriate the remains is admirable ‘and welcome. I trust that the Smithsonian will do so in a most honorable and sensitive way to any known descendants and original communities. John Connell | Cheshire, Connecticut Survival of the Fittest What an unusual saga Danna Staaf has detailed in “Clinging to Life” (December 2023), about the horned marsupial frog. The frog, with its embry onic processin a pouch on the mother’s back, has survived the Central American extinction chal- lenges of jungle logging and plantation clearing. Landy Anderton |Roleigh, North Carolina What Is Art? Move over, Michelangelo? ("State of the Art," De- cember 2023). Why not “Move out, A.L"? With respect £0 works of ar, itis quite evident that ar ‘ficial intelligence is brainless: It does only what i is told to do, without even a hint of thinking or of being gifted. The article states that the robot can't match the “finest subtleties of human ar- tisanship.” The devil is in the details. Isn't hard work what drives an artist to possibly create a masterpiece? Ben Dussan | Holland, Pennsylvania Rightful Recognition Twas deeply moved and grateful to learn more about Thaddeus Stevens in the December 2023 issue (“Freedom Fighter"), Abraham Lincoln has been credited as “the great emancipator” with good reason, but Tracy Schorn's article demon- strates clearly that Stevens was the man in the trenches who brought freedom and justice to the American slaves, I was introduced to him via the film Lincoln, so heartily portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones, but this deeper look at Stevens’ life, espe- cially his hardscrabble beginnings, evidences the fire in his belly for people without money or pow= er. Thanks to the citizens of Gettysburg and Lan- caster, Pennsylvania, for resurrecting his legacy, Robert M. Randolph | Swannanea, Nerth Carolina contact us ‘Send letters to LettarsEd@el.odu or to Letters, Smithsonian, MRC 513, RO Box 370%2, Washington, DC. 20013 Include @ telephone number andl adtress, Letters may be edited for clerity or space. Because ofthe high volume of ‘mall we receve, we cannot respond tol letter. Send queries about the Smithsonian Intttion to infa@skedu orto ‘OVS, Public Inury Mall Service, PO. Box 37012, Washington, DIC. 20013 January + February 2024 | SMITHSONIAN 7c £ ~CHARLESTON EXPLORECHARLESTON.COM #/€ @EXPLORECHARLESTON Explore@herlaton J SHAO'T AWOLSTH r A ANVdIWO— YOUR DOLLARS AREN'T WHAT THEY USED TO BE. Make the move to physical gold. Did you know that since the creation of the U.S. Federal Reserve in 1913, the dollar TSC een ie oa RR Oe Pee ea SE eee ca a Pe Un ee ee ay SU uN ee Tee ers OR uu Sua oe i Men eu ea Oe eer ie ecu AOE ola ala) (Own Gold Now" and “Protection in the Risk Zone" TARR Ce Rell Com Omura oe ete US. MONEY ers Penne Tes Gold Info Kit mated to you today! ee ed SV UUERSI=SS VICI Pats 10) fr. AS oD Coho) eect ee ee ee en eee eaTHE PAST IS rologue Es By Richard Grant Jeans U Crewe) February 2024 | sMTHBONIAN "prologue Wo HUNDRED YEARS ago, in the summer of 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette returned to America for the first ime since he fought in the American Revolution. ‘The Frenchman had become a major general in the Continental Army at the age of 19, was a close friend ‘of George Washington's and played a key role in the colonists’ conclusive victory at Yorktown. Now 67, La- fayette traveled by steamboat to Fort McHenry in Bal- ‘more, where a group of surviving officers from the Continental Army had assembled in Washington's, tentfrom the Revolutionary War. Enteringthe thread bare canopy for the first time in nearly half'a century, Lafayette and others were overcome and shed “tears, of glory, gratituee and joy." as Secretary of State John. ‘Quincy Adams described them later that day. ‘Today, Washington's war tent sits in the Museum. of the American Revolution in Philadel- phia, where it reigns as a “rockstar ob- ject.” as the New York Times has called it. Before seeing the tent, visitors watch a stirring 12-minute film about its history and significance. When the projection screens lift away and dim lights finally reveal the tent itself, “people have tears, In their eyes, literally every single time,” says R, Scott Stephenson, the museum's president. The tent, then, has elicited tears for two centuries. To Lafayette, it was a “consecrated” object, ‘ashe put it—the sacred symbol of Washington's peer less wartime leadership. Now this improbable survi- vor, nearly 250 years old, is regarded as hallowed rel- Icofthe Revolutionary War, asymbol of the American republic—even, by some, asthe frst Oval Office. ‘Made of sturdy flax linen with red scalloped edg- cs, and shaped like a long oval when pitched, itis a typical 18th-century marquee tent for high-ranking 42 SMITHSONIAN | Jonuary + February 200% Lett, dete rom Gilbert Stuart’ most fomous portrait ‘of Washing ton. Above, @ ‘watercolor of Wantingtons tent by Pirro Choris UEn- fant, who corved ‘or an enginoer| Inthe Continen- tel rey IT WAS A MOBILE FIELD HEAD‘ THAT BECA AND THEN A SYMBOL. UARTERS IE A RELIC military officers. Its dimensions are approximately 23 feet long, 14 feet wide and 12 feet high—"not a hhuge space.” Stephenson says, and quite “spartan” Jn its decoration, compared with the war tents of 18th-century European monarchs, like George III or Louis XVI. It was made in Reading, Pennsylvania, ‘during the Valley Forge encampment in the spring (of 1778, as part of a replacement set for Washington’s {initial campaign tents, which had worn out. By electing to camp among his men and endure their hardships for the almost seven-year duration, ofthe war, Washington was doing something highly ‘unusual and calculated for effect. “He was very con- sclously trying to model what leadership of the army in a republic would look like,” Stephenson says. It ‘was customary for military leaders to use buildings as their headquarters, and Washington attracted ‘widespread attention forstaying in his tent. It also served as his sleeping quarters and office, ‘where he would sit alone reading and ‘writing letters by candlelight. Some sol- diets later remembered his glowing tent as the last thing they saw at night and the first thing they saw in the morning, After the war's end in 1783, the tent and the rest of Washington's military equip- _ment went into storage at his Mount Ver non estate, Following his death in 1799, the tent took on new roles. It became a family helrloom for bis wife, Martha, and her de- scendants; for the young country, it was treated as a national treasure and regularly put on display, most notably for Lafayette’ visit in 1824, ‘To commemorate the 200th anniversary of that ‘occasion, the Museum of the American Revolution is ‘opening a new exhibition this February called “Wit- lution: The Unlikely Travels of Washing- I¢sa kind of reunion,” says curator Mat thew Skic. The museum has brought together tent- z 3 3 3related artifacts and artworks from many different collections, and all the known fragments of the tent that were cut off and given away as souvenirs. George Washington Parke Custis, President Washington's step-grandson, was particularly active inthis scissor work, handing out the scraps with notes identifying their provenance. The exhibition tells the stories of ‘Washington's companions in his war camps, includ- ing his enslaved valet, William Lee, who would dress him in the tent; three of his aides-de-camp; and the soldiers selected to guard the commander in chiet ‘The latter part of the exhibition follows the tent’s improbable journey through the 19th century to the present day. Fortwo decades it wastthe treasured pos- session of another legendary military leader, Robert E, Lee, who acquired joint ownership by marrying Martha Washington's great-granddaughter Mary Custis. The tent was kept in their home at Arlington House. During the Civil War, Arlington was taken by the Union Army, and the tent was carried away to ‘Washington, D.C, where it was displayed as a symbol of the Union cause. Then it became the subject of a long legal battle between the Lee family and the US. government, which ultimately returned the tent to Robert F. Lee's daughter. She sold it to the Reverend \W, Herbert Burkof Norristown, Pennsylvania, to raise ‘money for Confederate war widows, and the tent be- gan a new career as a star object in museums, first at Valley Forge and then at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, which opened in 2017, ‘Asked ifhe knew of a morestoried item of American camping gear, Stephenson said, “Absolutely not! And we discover new things all the time.” The museum's conservator Loreen Finkelstein, who preserved the tent through painstaking needlework, was at Mount Vernon on another project when she came across a pieceof the tent that had been sittingin adrawersince the 1930s. And someone had just approached the mu- seum with an item purchased at a Goodwill store—a small piece of linen with some red trim, now authen= ticated by the museum's experts, and an old note in pencil that said, “Part of George Washington's tent.” “It was a mobile field headquarters that became a relic and then a symbol.” says Stephenson. “And that's how it survived, Otherwise, who keeps an old tent around?” & Right-Hand Men ‘THE GENERAL'S TRUSTY MILITARY ASSISTANTS TON TOS Maryland-boen Itigator Harrison was ot the top of Washington's ist when the wor beganheving already earned ‘he commander's rust os he lewyersand he become an cide-de-camp in 178 before serving for yeors as Washing- Ton'smitery secretary, |APE THE YOUNG COUNTRY By Sonja Anderson This wll ecicnted Boston mor- ‘chant sarved Washington a= con oide-de-camp for ust under ‘wo months n 1776, before fiaingte become the army's ppaymaster goneraI9 1760, Fetes nome! the county firt consul to Fronee but never ‘rerved nie term lis sip wos lost wile crosing the Atlante Rondolph was recommended ta Washington by Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, ‘who wrote to the general that the young lawyer's obilties coon fl to yan Rn your countenance." After soving ean aige-de-ccmp int775. andaiph became governor of Virginia, US. attorney general tnd finally secretary of state, Hating from Ireland, Moylan immigrated to Philadelphia In'7Gb and uta roqpect able reputation as trade merchant ini775, Weshington "oppointed Moulon the muse tcremeater genatal of the Con- Tinental Ary Th fllovi Ueor he served os Washing tS brio hde-de comp Sod isda covairy toom Jenuary suirisonian 19 rary 2024EXPLORE THE UNRIVALED” ‘The Emerald Isle is 8 feast for the senses, the road to V a lush, green dream, Hiking in the wild Connemara cou 2 lavender-scented breeze ripples the reflection of Kylemore Abbey on Pollacapall Lough. You br 8 ‘moment to treasure on in and savor 1, another orthern Europ: ture. CALL 1.844.473.4368 OR CONTACT YOUR TRAVEL ADVISOR Regent SEVEN SEAS CRUISES" AN UNRIVALED EXPERIENCE’ ‘Scan the GR code to learn about our latest offers or visi SSC.com/specialCoy Wa = eer Je |rologue a By ‘Amy Crawford A FEAST FOR THE SENSES Asumptuous new exhibition of Islamic art aims to leave muscumgoers hungry for more Asia's Mughal dynasty, believed that wooing allies was as import- — ant as fighting battles when it came to building an empire. With no finer way to win friends than over agood meal, his memoir, The Babur-nama (a plate from a 1590 illustrated version, left), is full of references to parties and picnics, replete with wine and fruit syrups, goose kebabs, “loavesof fine flour” and “plenty of sweet melons.” Babur’s epicureanism was part of a longstanding culture of feasting in the Islamic world, “So much of Islamic artis related to the sourcing, preparation, serving and consumption of food,” notes Linda Komaroff, curator of “Dining with the Sultan,” a new exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art that brings together some 250 objects dating from the aa Meta te coma af ealnery eo ang foe KOS cies ‘ traditions. They inlude a cookbook pub- 5 tae , lished in 13th-century (Goren Poe ‘Tehran, omate brass depicing'abon- trays, jade dishes and aust being pe jeweled spoons, and an Endhisreatves, entire 18th-century re- iene 2 ception room salvaged = ANIRU'D-DIN Muhammad Babur : l (1483-1530), the founder of South Broiliarawed froma Damascus man- Fee cimce sion. “I think food is a ‘g00d way of introduc Ing an American museum audience 10 a different culture,” says Komaroff, who strove to make the show a multisensory experience. Guests will be Invited to seat themselves on fancy cushions for a “vir- ‘wal feast” and to sniff scent boxes stocked with cardamom, rosewater, orange blos- soms and other heady aromas. Komarof anticipates they will Ieave with thelr ap- petites thoroughly stimulated. “I think it’s ‘good for people to be hungry.” @ 46 SMITHSONIAN | Jonuary + February 2024FISHER INVESTMENTS” 7 Ways to MeL DEFINITIVE > Gi Sos Help Generate E Income in RETIREMENT Tea Retirement ; Get Prepared to Enjoy Your Comfortable Retirement ven income streams you The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income covers with a $500,000+ portfolio. Get a snapshot of the insight and service our can clients receive when you request your guide—at no cost—by calling 800-397-5752! 99 Special Bonus Guide RETIREMENT 99 Retirement Tips TIPS our happily retired clients. We'll include it when you request The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income. ollection of insights shared by ‘SCAN THE QR CODE AMR Ne SL RUM ecm crs MUU me (Here Ct ENE Visit FisherIncomeGuide.com/Help Call: 800-397-5752prologue AW ite New Music In the most American recording in history, one of our greatest jazzmen raised the stakes for everyone who came after 18 SMITHSONIAN | Jonuary + February 202% HEY GATHERED one afternoon in late October of 1960, at the AAtlantic Records studios in a nondescript building at 234 West Seth Street in New York: planist Me- Coy Tyner, just 21, a prodigy from Philadel- phia; Steve Davis, upright bass, 3, also from Philly;and Elvin Jones, at 38a veteran drum- ‘mer who had played with everyone from Art Farmer and Pepper Adams to Gil Evans and Miles Davis. ‘And then there was John Coltrane, 34, already widely ac- knowledged as the next great Jazz saxophonist, following Charlie Parker's death in 1955, The little band had been play- Ing together since May. Tt was the first proper recording session for the John Col- rane Quartet—and it promptly produced one of the great-fest moments in jazz history: Coltrane's rendition of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's “My Favorite Things.” A regular had recently shown Col trane the sheet music one nightat the Jazz Gallery, a ‘lub on St. Mark's Place in the East Village, and Col: trane thought he could make something o it. “We took it to rehearsal and, just like that, fell right into it,” Coltrane said in a 1961 interview. It’s a timeless song and quite possibly the most American recording in history: composed by the ‘grandsons of German and Russian Jews, about an Austrian family fleetng the Nazis on their way to America, played by an African American genius in a vernacular American style, produced by one Turkish American for a record label owned by another Turk: ish American. The recording is notin or of the melt ing pot. It is the melting pot. Te was also a pivotal moment in Coltrane's career and in his artistry, a tipping point of technique and Inspiration, of practice and poetry, of his widening, understanding of himself and his place in things In that single landmark recording, you can feel Col: ‘rane fully embrace the entirety of his promise, not conly as a saxophonist, but also as a bandleader, com. poser and arranger. And maybe asa man, Until that day, Coltrane had been the overachiev- ing sideman, playing someone else’s music in some- cone else's band. He was the best tenor player of his day but was almost always standing in the long, cool shadow of lead trumpet players like Dizzy Gillespie Co Miles Davis, both of whom eventually fired Col: ‘rane for his unreliability and drug use. (Davis had the uncanny grace, patience and good luck to hire hhim back after he got clean.) But once Coltrane kicked heroin in 1957, he imag- ined a new sound for himself and found new determi nation to create the musie only he heatd, Like every true prophet, Coltrane had wandered but was not lost. “The Coltrane who's a sideman for Miles Davis Is playing a completely different kind of music in a very different way.” says Steven Lewis, curator of ‘music and performing arts at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. “And then What you see is this creative explosion once he’s run: ning his own band.” ‘And “My Favorite Things,” from its opening eym: bal crash, was the first, undeniable blast. (COLTRANE WAS BORN in Hamlet, North Carolina, in 1926. He was an only child. His father and his grand: father were both preachers, and you can sometimes hear the gospel-style call-and-response cadence in his playing. When Coltrane was 12, those two men died Es by Jott MacGregor BETWEEN WHAT | THINK AND WHAT YOU HEAR, THERE’S THIS DAMNED » Coltrane on sax vith Milos Davis ‘on trumpat at Cafe Bohemia in New Yor’ ‘Cig, 1956, magcomisax INSTRUMENT. +] within weeks of each other. He was cut adrift by the Joss, but he was just starting on the sax that year—and his music saved him. He clungto that horn. He and his ‘mother moved upto Philadelphia, where he studied at the Granoff School of Music. He played the alto sax all through his stint in the Navy, in 1948 and 1946, Even- tually, you hear in the earliest Coltrane recordings from the late 1940s his clumsy devotion to both John- nny Hodges and Charlie Parker. Genius came later. Like Parker, he got hooked on heroin. Unlike Park: er, he found God and got clean before it killed him. All at once, his sound was different. Stronger. Deep: er. Filled with new energy and breath and purpose. He had always practiced obsessively, experlmenting with dozens of mouthpieces and reeds, never quite {nding whatever sound he heard in his head. Then came that afternoon on Seth Street, when Coltrane arrived at an otherworldly sound all hisown, — @ January « suirisonian 19rologue hh ———E————E {As a point of reference, the year Coltrane record. ed "My Favorite Things,” the No. 1 Billboard hit was the Percy Faith Orchestra playing the “Theme From a Summer Place,” a piece of movie music so anes: thetic you could pipe it straight into any operating, room in the world. “My Favorite Things” was ust as recognizable asany ‘ther Billboard hit—one of the most beloved songs from one of the most beloved musicals in history, The Sound of Music. But unlike the early rock or novelty pop songs that charted in that era is also a song of deceptive complication, a bittersweet showtune piv: ting between major and minor, from dark to bright, lighting Coltrane's way to something utterly new. The original is a midtempo waltz about finding. joy in the ordinary, first sung on Broadway by Mary Martin a year before Coltrane's historic Atlantic ses- sions. On the cast recording, it takes Martin and Pa- tricia Neway 2 minutes and 45 seconds to sing it. Coltrane's version, by contrast, isa hypnotic, nearly 14-minute-long whirling dervish of a thing, vamping, an E minor into E major again and again and again, ‘chanting and droning, propelled by Tyner’s insistent, percussive left hand on the keys. Davis on his bass ‘way down low; Jones up high, on top of that cymbal. Those ld minutes changed everything. The album fon which they appeared was a remarkable artistic and commercial success—50,000 copies were sold In 1961, landmark numbers for a jazz LP. That suc- cess quieted, without quite silencing, critics who had lately been complaining about the wearying length of Coltrane's solo improvisations. At the same time, the My Favorite Things LP brought jazz to new 20 SMITHSONIAN | January + February 2024 audiences, helped along by radio Dus who made a hit of the shortened 45-rpm version of the single. And it Terrmecoreeer | made John Coltrane star. isSmthsonion®, | Perhaps surprisingly, given its chordal simplicity, i | Coltrane's rendition of “My Favorite Things” helped to inspire lengthier jams in the jazz world, and later among psychedelic rock groups in the late 1960s. In his 2005 memoir, Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead re- called urging his band mates “to listen closely to the music of John Coltrane, especially his classic quar- tet, in which the band would take fairly simple struc- WHAT YOU SEE IS THIS CREATIVE EXPLOSION ONCE HE’S RUNNING HIS OWN BAND. tures (My Favorite Things, for example) and extend them far beyond their original length with fantasti- cal variations, frequently based on only one chord.” Many have recorded “My Favorite Things,” from Mary Martin to Julie Andrews to the Supremes to “Jonn Coltrane | BOBOY McFerrin o Kelly Clarkson, But only Coltrane ferlorming with | carries the song so far and into such mystical territo- his quartotin version so much as a messag square n- ry. ies not adifferent ‘has ge members Mccoy | froma parallel universe. ‘rer timmy | Coltrane the compulsive seeker was never quite EvinJones~in | satisfied with his own sound. “Between what I think Copenhegen. | and what you hear.” Coltrane said to French concert producer Frank Ténot that day in the studio, indicat-ing his sax, “there's this damned instrument.” Still, Coltrane loved performing the song and never lost his knack for summoning the majesty of the original recording, sometimes even tran: scending it: The 1963 live recording of Coltrane playing “My Favorite Things” at the Newport Jazz Festival may be the best jazz recording ever made. In Coltrane’s hands the song becomes an epic of cultures and history, of pain and loss and ca- tastrophe, of optimism and hope, of our disparate roots and the tangle of our histories, of musical forms from the Bay of Bengal tothe Alps to North AMtica to the American South, somehow synthe: sized into something like Afrofuturism. A sin- gular, harmonious and unmistakably American piece of art, filled with life and the lilting promise ‘of something like heaven. John Coltrane died of liver cancer in 1967, He was 40, Yet for many of ts he lives on, and in San Fran- ‘isco, he has been canonized as the patron saint of the Saint John Coltrane Alrican Orthodox Church. At the end of things there's only you and John Coltrane, together across time in the music. Goto Long Island to say goodbye, to Dix Hills, where he lived in a modest brick house on the edge of the suburban woods with his second wife, Alice. At Pinelawn Memorial Park, 40 miles and a ‘world away from New York City’s recording stu- dios and nightclubs, the two are buried in the shade of a big white oak. In summer the ceme- tery smells of cut grass under high sun, and the leaves of that big tree whisper in the stillness, T heard Coltrane's version of "My Favorite “Things” before I ever saw Julie Andrews sing the song in the 1965 movie, 1 was an only child prone to loneliness and melancholy. While there was nothing very special about my family’s unhappi- ness, growing up I spent long hours lying on the floor among scattered album covers in front of our ‘old Magnasonic 210, listening to Coltrane play "My Favorite Things” with my ear tothe speaker. At7 or 8 1 was already spellbound. It was to me then and now at once strange and soothing, alien yet as fa- miliar as the thread of my own pulse. It gathered ‘me up and held me, and I was sale inside it. Ifthe Broadway original was the candied an- tidore to simple sadness, to dog bites and bee stings, Coltrane's version of “My Favorite Things” somehow consecrates love itself as an absolute and universal joy. But itis impossible to write about music. Say instead: A long time ago music saved John Coltrane. Then John Coltrane saved me, He saves me still. ¢ The Key to Spirituality A CHURCH IN SAN FRANCISCO GIVES NEW MEANING TO THE TERM “GOSPEL MUSIC” By Brandon Tensley EYOND HIS pothbrecking musical accomplishments, John Coltrane might be the most spiritually divine jazzmanin history. At least, that's what congregants think at the Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Chureh in San Francisco. The church was established by two young lovers, Franzo and Marina King. While celebrating thelr first wedding ‘anniversary in 1965, the couple went to a show at the Jazz Work- shop, @ beloved San Francisco nightclub. When Coltrane began to play, the Kings say, the performance felt ike a massage from God~clmost a baptism by sound. The couple became convinced that Coltrane’s art was a path toward spiritual enlightenment. By 1969—two years after Coltrane's death—they'd established the church at 1529 Galvez Avenue in San Francisco, and that same. \yoar, Franze became a bishop in the Church of Ged in Chvist. For congregants, the holy text isnot the Bible, but rather A Love ‘Supreme, Coltrane's 1965 album, considered by some to be his masterwork, which includes audio of Coltrane intoning prayer. (On the first Sunday of every month, the church invites jazz fans. to participate in its “Love Supreme Meditation.” The lights are dimmed, and the congregation hears Coltrane's spokon-word poetry from the album: “I wll do all can to be worthy of thee, O Lord... There is none other. God is. tis so beautiful” The church has faced spiritual and logistical challenges over the post five decades. In 198, for instance, the Kings battled « lawsuit from the musician's widew, Alice Coltrane, after what the Kings ‘say wae a theological falling out. (Among other things, Alice want eda more staid approach: fewer saxophones, more meditation) ‘The congregation has moved often amid San Francisco's cycles cof gentrification, enjoying seven addresses since 1968. In 2022, the church moved to its current home at 2 Marina Boulevard. The African Orthodox Church granted sainthood to Coltrane in 1982. ‘Services at Saint John's are held each Sunday at 1 a.m., witha combination of Coltrane's spoken-word recordings and traditional Scripture. The Kings’ ecstatic experience of discovering Coltrane reflected in the church's Byzontine-style paintings (above) that d pict Coltrane in @ white robe, flames flaring from his saxophone. # January + February 2024 | eMITHSONIAN 24prologue Perey a 7 Kiley TRAVELS Lett, Bartram’ illustration of oat ‘Annona grendifiora,smam- NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA, ber ofthe pawpow fam which appeared in the na GEoKGra, alin 1791 Travels, right. EAST AND WEST FLORIDA AUNCHING HIS KAYAK into the St. Johns River on a nearly cloudless day in north= ; Pa naaaaTe el enmiaeen eat 4 C4 See cared De Glog ales co Ste ae eee leas Grid aeaed eran econ ea paddles with expert flicks of the wrist, glid- oar ee ature halk boat sive sh eap above the surface, wisn ke eee eae po mates ee re dnaabart tee «lng osn. dc waling SS Lee ae eee ee eT ae een ees Se ee a er delncf put mow tebe the eum ane sands Te Scag act sae een ae Se rieaats ta Sosprervl avin See A new generation is discovering the rambling Southern route of the country’s first great environmentalist 22 SMITHSONIAN | January + February 2024 ‘we prOvECT OUTENEER (2Discover The Treasures Along THE GREAT LAK In the comfort of our well-appointed fle oy the at ES Explore Well™ Call for FREE Cruis:prologue hE can naturalist and writer, who visited this spot sev ral times in the 18th century. In 173, Bartram left his home in Pennsylvania and embarked ‘on a four-year journey throughout the South- ‘east that would eventually yield Travels, his sprawling, poetic account of the landscapes, plants, animals and people he encountered in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennes- see, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi Part travelogue, part spiritual memoir and part sci- entific catalog, Travels extols Bartram belief in nature’ interconnectedness—and the precious ness ofall ts creatures. In his introduction, Bartram ta celebrates the azalea's “show of mirth and gaiety” and delights n the “sportive” movementsof the Venus fy: traps he believed that animals were capable of “pre- meditation” and “perseverance,” and he wrote with feeling about the “filial affections” ofa loyal bear cub, ‘The St. Johns served as the main thoroughfare for Bartram’s travels in Florida as he recorded his im- pressions of the area's ferocious alligators “roaring, terribly and belching floods of water,” and of fresh: ‘water springs “so extremely clear as to be absolutely iaphanous or transparent as the ether.” His book soon brought wide attention to many unheralded natural wonders in the South, turning the Floridian wilderness into a focus of international scientific & fascination and literary inspiration, Bartram’s ram- | “wah bling route has attracted curious scholars, wander- cers and artists ever since. Although Travels was published in Philadelphia, London and Paris in the 1790s, appreciation for Bar- ‘ram's work declined during the 19th century, and another major edition in the United States did not ap- pear until 1928. In 1958, the preface to a new edition announced its alm: to "make Bartram live again. MY CHIEF HAPPINESS CONSISTED IN TRACING AND ADMIRING THE INFINITE POWER, MAJESTY AND PERFECTION OF THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR. In the 2ist century, a Bartram revival is underway, led by enthusiasts like Campbell, who call themselves ‘Bartramites” and refer to William as “Billy.” as if he ‘were an old friend. Renewed interest in Bartram’s ‘writing, art and contributions to natural history Is, fueling new scholarship, a bienn ‘rvfermer a movement co recognize Bartram’s route nationally. | “pits istration bf annone, ‘gopher berry fours bos InPenney ‘who see the J conference and 24 SMITHGONIAN | January « February 2024 Bortram in an 1808 ail pore by Charles ygmaca, some- times cailed a Bartram’s work, and his holistic philosophy of na- ture, are not only an invitation to imagine a wild cer Southern past; they also contain a blueprint for a better future, one where nature is both protected and restored. With climate change and population growth imperiling what's left of the wilderness of Bartram’s day, that vision has never been more urgent. The shiny hull of Campbell's kayak is dec- rated with a sticker that reads “In the wake of William Bartram,” and he has spent a lifetime studying the river with a well-loved copy of Travels nestled in the } bow of his boat. Visiting sites like Mount Royal is impbell says, PA wense-youcaninre beyond a shadow of a Y doubt that you're right where he was.” Campbell first learned about Bartram in the 1980s, when he was work- ing for the St. Johns River S Water Management District in northern Florida's Putnam County, where he grew up and Where Mount Royal 1s located. Using Travels, Campbell pleced to- gether the precolonial history of the river, before industry and tourism changed the landscape. Through Bartram's eyes, Campbell says, he could see what the St. Johns once was—and. what it might be again. WILLIAM BARTRAM was born in 1739 t0 a Quaker family a few miles outside Philadelphia, His father was John Bartram, an accomplished botanist, whom, the young William accompanied on expeditions to collect and study plants. William also showed an ear- ly talent for drawing. In 1773, at the age of 33 and with funding from a London patron, Bartram led a survey Ing trip through the Southeast. He lovingly collect- ed plant and seed specimens, documented animal behavior, recorded the customs of Indigenous tribes and illustrated the wildlife he encountered, often,