Ravi Coltrane - Moving Pictures (1998)

All modern saxophonists stand in the shadow of John Coltrane, but that shadow must be overwhelming for his son, Ravi Coltrane. Ravi certainly opened himself up to criticism by pursuing the saxophone as his main instrument, but he was smart enough not to play in the style of his father, opting to follow the influence of straight-ahead hard boppers like Joe Henderson. It was a wise move, since Ravi has a rich, warm tone and deft style that makes his melodic, well-structured compositions all the more appealing. Moving Pictures, his debut record, is mainly comprised of originals, with covers of Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Horace Silver, and Wayne Shorter songs thrown in for good measure. Working with drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, and pianist Michael Cain, Coltrane achieves a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere on his first session. It may not offer anything new, but Moving Pictures is a promising debut from a young saxophonist who may have a lot to offer on his own terms. ~ by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG. 

BMG / RCA VICTOR, 74321-55887-2, 1998
Recorded 15th-17th October, 1997 at Two Recording Studio, Brooklyn, New York 

Musicians:
Ravi Coltrane - Tenor & Soprano Saxes
Michael Cain - Piano
Lonnie Plaxico - Bass
Jeff “Tain” Watts - Drums
Special Guests:
Ralph Alessi - Trumpet (#1,3,7,11)
Steve Coleman - Alto Sax (#9,11)
Ancient Vibrations: (#1,6,11)
Junior "Gabu" Wedderburn - Djembe [Lead]
Jeremiah McFarlane - Djembe
Clyde Wedderbum - Djun-Djun 

Tracks:
01. Interlude - Thursday {Ravi Coltrane} (2:33)
02. Narcine {Ravi Coltrane} (9:20)
03. Tones For Jobe Kain {Ravi Coltrane} (7:22)
04. In Three For Thee {Ravi Coltrane} (5:05)
05. Peace {Horace Silver} (5:39)
06. Search For Peace {McCoy Tyner} (7:10)
07. Mixed Media {Ravi Coltrane} (8:22)
08. High Windows {Ravi Coltrane} (5:34)
09. Inner Urge {Joe Henderson} (7:50)
10. When You Dream {Edgy Lee, Wayne Shorter} (4:39)
11. Outerlude - Still Thursday {Ravi Coltrane} (2:50) 

Total Time: 66:28 

Credits:
Producer, Mixing - Steve Coleman
Assistant Producer - Sophia Wong
Executive Producer - Daniel Baumgarten
Engineer, Mixing - Joseph Marciano
Assistant Engineer - Nancy Marciano
Mixing, Liner Notes - Ravi Coltrane
Mastering Engineer - Ted Jensen
Photography - Jimmy Katz, Darlene DeVita, Dorothy Low
Liner Notes - Amiri Baraka

LINK

Ravi Coltrane ft. Steve Coleman - Inner Urge

Ravi Coltrane - Spirit Fiction (2012)

A career on the saxophone with one of the most freethinking saxophonists in music history for a father has to be a tough call. Now 46, Ravi Coltrane, son of John, has often chosen to be a sympathetic sideman rather than the boss. But his Blue Note Records debut as a leader feels like a giant step. The tracks are split between two groups (a quartet with Luis Perdomo on piano, and a superb quintet with Geri Allen at the keys, and Ralph Alessi on trumpet), playing an arrestingly original postbop repertoire, plus covers of pieces by Ornette Coleman and Paul Motian. There are delicate improv conversations between Coltrane and Alessi, passages in which Geri Allen and drummer Eric Harland uncannily recall the sound of the young Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams in the Miles Davis quintet, quiet tone-bending sax ruminations and a deliciously ramshackle version of Ornette Coleman's Check Out Time. It genuinely sounds like a coming-of-age for Ravi Coltrane. ~ John Fordham, The Guardian. 

Blue Note Records, 509999 18937 2 7, 2012
Recorded (#1,3,4,7,11) at Bennett's Studios, Englewood, New Jersey
Recorded (#2,5,8,9,10) at Sear Sound, New York City
Recorded (#6) at Systems Two Recording, Brooklyn, New York 

Musicians:
Ravi Coltrane - Tenor & Soprano Saxes
Joe Lovano - Tenor Sax (#9,10)
Luis Perdomo - Piano (#1,3,4,7,11)
Drew Gress - Bass (#1,3,4,7,11)
E.J. Strickland - Drums (#1,3,4,6,7,11)
Ralph Alessi - Trumpet (#2,5,8,9)
Geri Allen - Piano (#2,5,8-10)
James Genus - Bass (#2,5,8,9)
Eric Harland - Drums (#2,5,8,9)

Tracks:
01. Roads Cross {Gress, Strickland, Perdomo, Coltrane} (5:04)
02. Klepto {Ralph Alessi} (7:30)
03. Spirit Fiction {Gress, Strickland, Perdomo, Coltrane} (52:28)
04. The Change, My Girl {Ravi Coltrane} (6:46)
05. Who Wants Ice Cream {Ralph Alessi} (6:32)
06. Spring & Hudson {Ravi Coltrane} (2:21)
07. Cross Roads {Gress, Strickland, Perdomo, Coltrane} (5 (4:03)
08. Yellow Cat {Ralph Alessi} (6:50)
09. Check Out Time {Ornette Coleman} (7:26)
10. Fantasm {Paul Motian} (4:08)
11. Marilyn & Tammy {Ravi Coltrane} (5:42) 

Total Time: 58:57 

Credits:
Producer, Mixing - Ravi Coltrane
Producer, Mixing, Liner Notes - Joe Lovano
Executive-Producer - Bruce Lundvall
Recording Engineer - Dave Kowalski (#1,3,4,7,11)
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Chris Allen (#2,5,8-10)
Recording Engineer - Joe Marchiano (#6)
Mixing Engineer - Ravi Coltrane, Steve Genewick (#1,3,4,6,7,11)
Mixing Engineer - Joe Lovano (#2,5,8-10)
Mastering Engineer - Allan Tucker
Art Direction, Design - Hayden Miller
Photography - Darlene Devita 

Spirit Fiction

Mark Soskin - Man Behind The Curtain (2009)

Pianist Mark Soskin's successful career as a top-drawer jazz musician has been defined by his tenure with legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins and his efforts as a leader, which mark him as a fine player and purveyor of the modern mainstream. For this, his tenth album as a leader, Soskin is asserting his talents as a person who enjoys rearranging well-worn standards, adding three originals, and displaying the immense talent that makes his music ultimately enjoyable. With estimable help from drummer Bill Stewart and acoustic upright bassist Jay Anderson, Soskin has substantial support in this endeavor while adding saxophonist Ravi Coltrane. A musician quite different than Rollins, the son of John Coltrane (and a fine player in his own right) maintains his own high-level brand of quality and visibility to the quartet. Soskin himself is quite an intelligent player who always knows the right phrase to place in the moment, especially from his bass-oriented left hand. He loves to set up sonic waves in tandem with Anderson, or play off of Stewart's deft rhythmic pulse. The quartet does a memorable version of "Invitation," and while jazz bands have done this one to death, Soskin uses a waltz tempo, a modal base, and kinetic energy to uplift it. A light and lilting take of "Heather on the Hill" moves to hip and heavy modal power in nine meaningful minutes. A bass feature for Anderson on the fairly slow and tender "For Heaven's Sake" has Coltrane overdubbing tenor and soprano sax; the rubato free-based "For All All We Know" shows a different side of Soskin à la John Coltrane removed from bar lines; and the chord-driven "This Is New" has the pianist accenting the melody while swinging it along easily. Soskin is humble as a composer, and his "Chutes & Ladders" is playful, tuneful modern music with a sonorous tandem line from Coltrane's tenor and Anderson's bass; the title track is a straight waltz, mysterious yet light; and "Little One" is simply a beauty in its economy and concordant, internal innocence. There's no strain of egos or dominant imbalance that might tip the scales, especially in the role Ravi Coltrane plays as a teammate rather than a frontman. It is this democratic aspect of Soskin's music that takes the quartet into a cohesive arena that for many listeners may not be all that immediately distinctive. The good news is that Soskin and his excellent ensemble rely on solid mainstream jazz values in order to get a direct point of view across, and in this case succeed without any further questions. ~ by Michael G. Nastos, AMG. 

Kind Of Blue Records, KOB 10035, 2009
Recorded 8th May, 2009 at Systems Two Recording Studio, New York 

Musicians:
Mark Soskin - Piano, Arranger
Ravi Coltrane - Soprano & Tenor Saxophones
Jay Anderson - Bass
Bill Stewart - Drums 

Tracks:
1. Heather On The Hill {Frederick Loewe, Alan Jay Lerner} (8:57)
2. Chutes And Ladders {Mark Soskin} (5:36)
3. Invitation {Bronslau Kaper, Paul Francis Webster} (7:13)
4. For All We Know {J. Fred Coots, Sam M. Lewis} (5:55)
5. Man Behind The Curtain {Mark Soskin} (8:10)
6. This Is New {Kurt Weill, Ira Gershwin} (6:11)
7. For Heaven's Sake {Elise Bretton, Sherman Edwards, Don Meyers} (8:40)
8. Little One {Mark Soskin} (8:13) 

Total Time: 58:55 

Credits:
Producer - Mark Soskin
Executive Producer - Roy Tarrant
Engineer, Mixing, Mastering - Mike Marciano
Photography - Jimmy Katz

Wallace Roney - No Job Too Big Or Small (1999)

32 Jazz/Savoy's No Job Too Big or Small contains 11 highlights (as chosen by producer Adam Dorn) from Wallace Roney's recordings for Muse in the late '80s and early '90s. Although these were made at the outset of his career, Roney was already at the top of his game, as evidenced by this highly enjoyable collection. While the original albums are certainly worth hearing themselves, this is an excellent introduction to the trumpeter's finest recordings. ~ by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG.

Savoy Jazz, SVY 17274, 1999

Recorded 19^th February, 1987 - 6^th June, 1993

Musicians:

Wallace Roney - Trumpet

Kenny Garrett - Alto saxophone

Gary Thomas - Tenor Saxophone, Flute

Antoine Roney, Ravi Coltrane - Tenor saxophone

Jacky Terrasson, Donald Brown, Geri Allen, Mulgrew Miller - Piano

Peter Washington, Christian McBride, Charnett Moffatt - Bass

Eric Allen,Cindy Blackman,Kenny Washington,Tony Williams - Drums

Tracks:

01. Melchizedek {Antoine Roney} (7:33)

02. Alone Together {Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz} (8:53)

03. Daahoud {Clifford Brown} (6:08)

04. Obsession {Wallace Roney} (6:10)

05. Blue In Green {Bill Evans} (5:46)

06. Donna Lee {Charlie Parker} (4:22)

07. Solar {Miles Davis} (8:57)

08. Float {Cindy Blackman} (5:43)

09. Lost {Wayne Shorter} (6:10)

10. For Duke {Wallace Roney} (8:24)

11. Love For Sale {Cole Porter} (7:40)

Credits:

Producer - Don Sickler, Joe Fields, Tony Williams, Michael Cuscuna

Compilation Producer - Adam Dorn

Production Coordination - Becky Wisdom

Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Mastering, Reissue Mastering - Gene Paul

Cover Photo, Photography - David Gahr

Graphic Design - Page Simon

Photography - Pamela Stanfield