Verve Label Group, home to John Coltrane's Impulse! Records catalogue, is leading a yearlong global celebration marking the centenary of the jazz saxophonist's birth on 23 September. The tribute, coordinated with Coltrane's heirs Ravi and Michelle Coltrane, underscores how deeply his music has permeated popular culture, having been sampled or referenced by artists as varied as Chaka Khan, Ariana Grande, OutKast and the Beastie Boys, as well as figures such as Kendrick Lamar and Bill Clinton.

Verve Label Group president Jamie Krents said planning began roughly two years ago, building on a decade of unearthing previously unreleased Coltrane recordings, including the 2018 hit Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album. The celebrations kicked off in January with a limited-edition vinyl compilation, Essential John Coltrane, followed by a New York State Legislature resolution in April and special reissues of 1958's Blue Train from sister label Blue Note in June. Further tributes from Atlantic Records and Craft Records are planned ahead of a major birthday-week celebration in September, honouring the musician who died in 1967 aged 40.