Ravi Coltrane Quartet

Saxophonist, bandleader, and composer Ravi Coltrane has fronted a variety of jazz lineups, recorded critically-hailed albums as leader, produced recordings by others, worked as sideman for jazz luminaries, overseen important jazz reissues, and founded an independent record label. The second son of John and Alice Coltrane, he was born in 1965 in Long Island and was named after Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. Raised in the Los Angeles area, he began playing music at an early age and grew up hearing a wide variety of music including his mother’s playing plus his father’s recordings, as well as classical music, R&B, soul music and popular music from James Brown to the Beatles. In his late teens, jazz became his main interest and in 1986 he entered the California Institute of the Arts to pursue musical studies. After college he toured with Elvin Jones and within a year, relocated to New York City where he began playing with a variety of artists from Jack DeJohnnette to Rashied Ali, Wallace Roney, Cindy Blackman, Joe Lovano, Joanne Brackeen, and very importantly, Steve Coleman who became a tremendous influence on Coltrane’s development. In 1997 he recorded his first album as a leader and began touring extensively with his own groups. In 2002 he launched his own recording company, RKM Music, to document the music of his associates; produced Legacy, a four-disc study of his father’s career, for Verve; and co-produced and wrote liner notes for the repackaging of A Love Supreme. He continues his role as family archivist of his father’s unreleased material and is working closely on preparing new projects with Verve. He was also the driving force behind his mother’s return to recording after a 26-year hiatus which led to the release of Translinear Light on Impulse! in 2004. Appearing with Ravi Coltrane tonight will be his regular working band for the last several years: pianist Luis Perdomo; bassist Hans Glawischnig; and drummer E.J. Strickland.

$25/$20 Members & Students. Available in advance, by phone or in person, at the Outpost Performance Space (268-0044)

The Ravi Coltrane Quartet will also perform in Las Cruces at New Mexico State University NMSU Music Recital Hall on Wednesday, March 12 at 8pm (575-646-1420 or go to http://panam.nmsu.edu/ for information) and in Santa Fe at the Friends of Santa Fe Jazz, Saturday, March 15. For information, contact lee217@comcast.net.