Jazz Articles about Ravi Coltrane

Ravi Coltrane: Spirit Fiction

by Franz A. Matzner
June 12, 2012

Ravi Coltrane's Blue Note debut, Spirit Fiction, presents the saxophonist in a self-created environment of formal experimentation defined by multiple conceits and constraints.Coltrane's penchant for this type of thoughtful experimentation has been consistent over his career. With Spirit Fiction, however, he has taken the approach to a new level, deploying an array of recording techniques, compositional approaches, and “process" contexts. The result is an album of great diversity and, considering its quite cerebral architecture, of surprising delicacy and ...

Ravi Coltrane with the Geri Allen Trio at The Iridium, NYC

by Ralph A. Miriello
December 5, 2009

Ravi Coltrane with the Geri Allen Trio The Iridium New York, NY November 21, 2009The Iridium is a major jazz club in the midtown section of New York City. As you approach the club, you can't help but be overwhelmed by the bombardment of intense streaming lights--like a laser light show emanating from adjacent Times Square. On this clear, unseasonably warm evening the club was to feature tenor saxophone icon Pharoah Sanders ...

Ravi Coltrane: Blending Times

by David Adler
May 18, 2009

By opening Blending Times with “Shine," a wonderful rubato melody by pianist Luis Perdomo, Ravi Coltrane seems to take the spotlight off of himself, making deft use of one of his most potent resources: his working band, with Perdomo, bassist Drew Gress and drummer EJ Strickland. Ever since debuting as a leader, the saxophonist has found ways to grapple with the towering legacy of his late father while also addressing creativity in the here and now. This is Coltrane's first ...

Ravi Coltrane: Changing and Blending Times

by R.J. DeLuke
April 13, 2009

Saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, he of the inescapable surname, is continuing to grow both as a musician and a person. His playing these days contains more maturity; a sense of exploration, combined with a sureness of attack and a brawny sound.The growing musical proficiency is documented on Blending Times (Savoy Jazz, 2009). Coltrane and his working band--pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Drew Gress and drummer E.J. Strickland--address a group of tunes both written and improvised on the spot. The band ...

Ravi Coltrane: Blending Times

by Mark F. Turner
January 8, 2009

Saxophonist Ravi Coltrane stands in the legacy of not one, but two great influences: his honored father, John Coltrane, one of the most influential musicians in jazz, and his mother, Alice Coltrane, a superb musician and spiritual guide whose untimely passing in January 17, 2007 left a void that will not be easily filled. Yet with a quiet demeanor contrasted by profound abilities, Ravi Coltrane delivers the long-awaited Blending Times. This is his fifth release as a ...

Ravi Coltrane: In Flux

by Germein Linares
June 20, 2005

Ravi Coltrane's fourth studio release, In Flux, is what he calls “by far the strongest work I've done to date." A bold statement, no doubt, though the album's twelve offerings give credibility to his argument. Joined by his touring group of pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer EJ Strickland, Coltrane exploits the group's cohesion: their ability to lock and sustain the strength of the individual as it benefits the whole of the group.

Together, the band is an ...

Ravi Coltrane: In Flux

by Michael A. Edwards
April 2, 2005

Neither overly-swayed by or unrealistically-dismissive of his father's legacy, Ravi Coltrane has focused on putting out solid, challenging jazz in the modal and modern bop forms. His latest, a quartet recording, continues that line and offers palpable improvements both in his playing and compositional ideas. Each member contributes to In Flux, and there is a spirited re-working of Wayne Shorter's “United" with the leader on soprano saxophone. Neither harsh, nor biting, he deftly twists shorter and longer phrases ...