Ravi Coltrane, a saxophonist, is the son John and Alice Coltrane. Ravi Coltrane was just two years old when John Coltrane died. Although he was musically raised by his mother, and began playing piano at an early age, he didn’t start a career in jazz until his twenties. Coltrane learned his craft playing with Elvin Jones’ band before meeting Steve Coleman, Graham Haynes and Steve Coleman. Coltrane joined the M-Base artist consortium and was signed to RCA in 1997 (which also lists Coleman). Coleman and Ralph Alessi were both guests on Ravi’s first album, Moving Pictures (1998). Although the comparisons were inevitable, Coltrane seemed not to have noticed them before he recorded a single note. Coltrane’s tone, which includes some soprano and tenor, is more like Joe Henderson’s. However, his father’s sound is somewhat evident. He also covered “Inner Urge” for his debut album, making it difficult to ignore. Coltrane released From the Round Box in 2000. It was received more warmly than his debut album. The second album featured contributions by Alessi and pianist Geri Alle. While he covered Ornette Coleman and Wayne Shorter, he also added two of his own songs. Although his father’s influence is more apparent here, Coltrane still proved that he was creating his own sound. Coltrane was already a forward-thinking, ego-free jazz musician by the time he released 2002’s Mad 6. This impression was reinforced by releases like 2005’s In Flux, and 2009’s Blending Times. Coltrane released Spirit Fiction, a Joe Lovano-produced album in 2012. Allmusic
