Coltrane Jr. to pay tribute to his father, jazz legend

It was inevitable that the second son of musicians John and Alice Coltrane would become a star in his own right. Named after Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar, the younger Coltrane was 2 years old when his saxophonist father died in 1967. He has followed in his father’s footsteps and today is a prominent contemporary saxophonist. Ravi recalls that he grew up hearing a variety of music at his Los Angeles area home. “My mother was playing piano and organ in the house, every day,” said Coltrane.
“She took us to her performances and to recording sessions. She played my father’s LP’s and recordings of classical music. Early on, I listened to a lot of R&B, soul music, popular music of the day — James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone, Motown music, Earth Wind and Fire. Later I got into Prince, The Beatles, I listened to more Symphonic music — Stravinsky, Dvorak. I was a big fan of film scores. Jazz music was something I always appreciated, but I had to reach my late teens and go through profound family changes before the music became a dominant force in my life.”

In 1986, Coltrane entered the California Institute of the Arts to pursue musical studies, focusing on the saxophone. In 1991, Ravi hooked up with Elvin Jones, his father’s renowned drummer from the ‘60s and received his first taste of the jazz life. Within a year, he relocated to New York City and began playing with a variety of players: Jack DeJohnnette, Rashied Ali, Wallace Roney, Antoine Roney, Geri Allen, Kenny Barron, Cindy Blackman, Joe Lovano, Joanne Brackeen, Gerry Gibbs, Graham Haynes, and Steve Coleman. Coltrane’s relationship with Coleman through most of the ‘90s was particularly influential on the budding saxophonist, including tours and appearances on several Coleman albums.
Most recently, Coltrane was the driving and guiding force behind his mother’s return to recording after a 26-year hiatus. “Translinear Light,” featuring performances by Alice and Ravi along with Charlie Haden, Jack Dejohnette, James Genus, Jeff Watts, Oran Coltrane and others, was released in late September 2004, three years before Alice’s death at age 69.

Shaping his own quartet through tours and appearances, Ravi Coltrane performed in India for the first time in 2005. While there he stopped to visit and perform at the Ravi Shankar Centre and finally met 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.”
Ravi Coltrane performs on Saturday, Nov. 7 as part of the 32nd Cape May Jazz Festival “A Tribute to the Count” runs Nov. 6-8. Schedule, musicians’ information and sound bytes are found on the Web at www.capemayjazz.org. For more information call (609) 884-7277 or e-mail info@capemayjazz.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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