Live jazz welcomed neighbors — and folks from around the city — to ‘The Yard’ on John Coltrane Street in Strawberry Mansion

Pianist Alfie Pollitt was just 19 when he sat in on a set with John Coltrane at Philadelphia’s Pep’s Musical Bar at Broad and South Streets around 1962.

On Saturday, roughly 62 years later, Pollitt, now 81, joined in a set playing jazz at The Yard on John Coltrane Street.

“He was very humble,” Pollitt said of Coltrane, a world-renowned jazz saxophonist. “He was always consuming music, always exploring.” Pollitt’s group played Coltrane’s songs: “My Favorite Things,” “Naima,” and “The Promise.”

The Yard is located at 1515-1517 N. 33rd St., on what had been a vacant lot, just a couple doors away from the John Coltrane House at 1511 N. 33rd St.

People from Strawberry Mansion and beyond said they loved the look and promise of The Yard, which is a project of the Strawberry Mansion Community Development Corp.

“This is great. It’s beautiful,” said Willie Newson, 74, and the block caption of the 3000 block of Dauphin Street.

“This place was abandoned for years,” he said. He saw The Yard as a place where longtime residents could get to know new people who were moving into the area as it undergoes gentrification.

“Maybe it’s a place where people can come together, get to know each other and build unity,” Newson said.

While The Yard was being celebrated as a place for community gatherings, there were reminders that the recent legal battles over ownership of Coltrane’s house left lingering feelings.

Coltrane moved with his family — his mother, his aunt, and his cousin — into what is now known as 1511 N. 33rd St., in 1952. He lived there until 1958, when he moved to New York.

But Coltrane’s mother and “Cousin Mary” Alexander continued to live in the house across from Fairmount Park.

Aminta Early-Gadson, whose father, Norman Gadson, bought the Coltrane House from Alexander in 2004, said she was thrilled to see The Yard active at last.

“This is something we’ve been working on for five years,” Gadson said. “I think I shed some happy tears.”

Originally, Gadson said, she and the Strawberry Mansion CDC had a partnership to develop the Coltrane House into a museum and they wanted a backyard space that was to have stretched all the way from 1515-1517 to the Coltrane House at 1511 N. 33rd.

But a lawsuit initiated by Coltrane’s sons, Ravi and Oran Coltrane, was settled in March, transferring ownership of the Coltrane House to the sons.

The lawsuit claimed that Alexander never had the legal right to sell the house to Gadson.

However, Aminta Gadson said there are still plans for a Cultural Arts Center at 1515 N. 33rd St., the rowhouse that is adjacent to The Yard space, where young people can take music and art lessons.

But the legal battles were mostly forgotten on Saturday as the music played on.

Arthur Allen Edens came from Northeast Philadelphia to listen to the music. He said he is a longtime jazz fan and had gotten an invitation from drummer Brother Kenyatta, who also performed on Saturday. The Lovett Hines Legacy Ensemble featured young musicians. Most of them were in their teens, but one tenor saxophonist was only 11 years old.

Steve Horton traveled from Germantown to the opening. He said he has worked in community development for years and wanted to support the work of the Strawberry Mansion CDC.

“It’s exciting and there’s a lot of energy about this,” Horton said.

Lillie Rogers, who lives in Strawberry Mansion, also took in the activities for children including a book lending area, and art on the walkway that promotes learning, such as helping the organization called Tiny WPA build small picnic tables.

“It’s almost like a family reunion vibe,” said Rogers. “I hope this is just the beginning and there will be many more good things happening here.”

This story was updated to remove a reference to a music education program that Lovett Hines is no longer affiliated with. He is now teaching as director of the Lovett Hines Legacy Ensemble.