Ravi Coltrane - Blending Times
by Dan MacIntosh
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How much bravery does it take for the son or daughter of a musical legend to strike out on his/her own? More than can be measured, obviously. Yet the music business is filled with offspring bearing daunting last names. And few of these latter ones have come anywhere close to their parents' legend, which is what we would have expected. Granted, Jacob Dylan and The Wallflowers had a brief run where they made some quality records that � though not Dylan-great, of course � were still pretty darn good. But for every son-of-Dylan, there's a son-of-Marley ( e.g. Ziggy Marley) who -- while he sounds a whole lot like dad -- will never be an artistic icon like his father. Sorry, Ziggy.
Perhaps it's fortunate for Ravi Coltrane that his chosen style is the relatively lower profile jazz field, rather than then the fame-imposing rock or pop genre. Certainly, John Coltrane was/is larger than life. But it's safe to say the world knows Bob Dylan's records a whole lot better than know Coltrane's work.
Blending Times is a fine, straight ahead jazz release. It features ten tracks, most of which Coltrane composed. (Or as he puts it, improvisations conceived and directed by Ravi Coltrane.) There are also a couple notable covers. One is Epistrophy, which Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke created. On it, pianist Luis Perdomo particularly shines, of course, because it was masterminded by a master keyboardist. One other outstanding piece is For Turiya, which was written by Charlie Haden, who is known most for being a bassist with Ornette Coleman. Haden also plays on the track, along with Brandee Younger on harp. Jazz harp? Now that's a new one to me. But it makes for beautiful music here -- even it strikes you as odd.
Coltrane plays wonderful tenor saxophone throughout, whether he's playing modern jazz, or getting acoustically funky, as happens during Narcined. And while this music won't transform you into a different realm, the way John Coltrane's music mysteriously did, it is nevertheless a fine collection of jazz. So, in this particular child-of-greatness case, one brave soul has done well.
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Ravi Coltrane - Blending Times
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