Ravi Coltrane

All Music Guide:

Saxophonist Ravi Coltrane is the son of John and Alice Coltrane. John Coltrane passed away when Ravi was two. While he had a musical upbringing by his mother and began playing fairly early, he did not commence a jazz vocation until he was in his early twenties. Coltrane was able to hone his chops playing with Elvin Jones' group before meeting Steve Coleman and Graham Haynes. Coltrane became a member of the M-Base consortium of artists and signed to RCA in 1997 (which lists Coleman on its roster as well). Coleman produced and guested on Ravi's first recording, Moving Pictures (1998), as did trumpeter Ralph Alessi. The critical comparisons were inevitable, but Coltrane seemed to see this coming before he ever recorded a note. Coltrane's tone on tenor (he plays some soprano, too) is more reminiscent of Joe Henderson's -- though his father's sound is slightly evident -- and in covering "Inner Urge" on his debut, he made it impossible to deny. Coltrane recorded a second album in 2000, From the Round Box, that was received even more warmly than his debut and featured contributions from Alessi again and pianist Geri Allen. He covered Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman, and Wayne Shorter while adding a pair of his own tunes. His father's influence is a bit more evident here, but, nonetheless, Coltrane proved he was working his sound out for himself. By the time he released 2002's Mad 6, Coltrane had firmly established himself as an ego-free and forward-thinking jazz musician with a strong musical identity influenced by, but set apart from, his father's legacy. This impression was only reinforced on such releases as 2005's In Flux and 2009's Blending Times. In 2012, Coltrane delivered the Joe Lovano-produced Spirit Fiction.

Wikipedia:

Ravi Coltrane (b. August 6, 1965 in Long Island, New York) is an American post-bop jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced artists such as pianist Luis Perdomo, guitarist David Gilmore, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi.

Biography [edit]

Ravi Coltrane is the son of saxophonist John Coltrane and jazz pianist Alice Coltrane. He is also cousin to experimental music producer Steven Ellison aka Flying Lotus. He was raised in Los Angeles, California, and was named after sitar player Ravi Shankar.

Ravi was two years old in 1967 when his father John Coltrane died. Ravi is a 1983 graduate of El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California.In 1986, he studied music, focusing on the saxophone at the California Institute of the Arts. Ravi has worked extensively with M-Base guru Steve Coleman, a significant influence on Ravi's own musical conception. Coltrane has played with Geri Allen, Kenny Barron, McCoy Tyner, Pharoah Sanders, Herbie Hancock, Carlos Santana, Stanley Clarke, Branford Marsalis and others.

In 1997, after performing on over thirty recordings as a sideman, Ravi entered the studio to record his first album as leader Moving Pictures, working with drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, bassist Lonnie Plaxico and pianist Michael Cain. This led to extensive touring with his working featuring Andy Milne on piano, drummer Steve Hass, and bassist Lonnie Plaxico. His second disc, From the Round Box (2000), finds Coltrane in the company of pianist Geri Allen, trumpeter Ralph Alessi, bassist James Genus, and drummer Eric Harland. Followed by Mad 6 (2002) his first release for Sony music, featuring drummer Steve Hass, pianist George Colligan, and bassist James Genus and In Flux (2005) he has been working with bassist Drew Gress, pianist Luis Perdomo, and drummer E.J. Strickland.

In January 2005, Ravi Coltrane performed in India for the first time, as part of a delegation of American jazz musicians sent on a State Department tour to promote HIV/AIDS awareness. Also participating in the tour were vocalist Al Jarreau, guitarist Earl Klugh, and pianist George Duke. Performances included a January 16 concert in Mumbai (Bombay), a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. in Delhi on January 17, and a music festival in Delhi on January 18 organized by violinist L. Subramaniam. Also on January 18, Ravi Coltrane stopped to visit and perform at the Ravi Shankar Centre, where Coltrane met with the man he was named after. Then picking up a clarinet to engage in an unplanned jam session with a pair of shehnai players, Coltrane said, "I'm a little nervous with the master here."

The Coltrane Quartet played at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 2001, the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival in 2004, and the Vienne Jazz Festival in 2005.

In 2008, Ravi became part of The Blue Note 7, a septet formed that year in honor of the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records. The group recorded an album in 2008, entitled Mosaic, which was released in 2009 on Blue Note Records/EMI, and toured the United States in promotion of the album from January until April 2009. The group plays the music of Blue Note Records from various artists, with arrangements by members of the band and Renee Rosnes.

Gallery [edit]

Ravi Coltrane with McCoy Tyner, Christian McBride, Roy Haynes and Michael Brecker performing at the Newport Jazz Festival on August 14, 2004.

Ravi Coltrane with Terell Stafford and Charnett Moffett at the Newport Jazz Festival on August 13, 2005.

Ravi Coltrane at Bonnaroo, 2007.

Ravi Coltrane performing with The Blue Note 7 at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 4, 2009.