Coltrane’s sound on the horn is well-rounded yet lean and muscular in the lower and mid range; in the intstrument’s upper range he can occaisionally approach the intense strains of his father’s most fervent improvisations. But Ravi never sounds like ‘son of’ anyone...

Ravi Coltrane’s latest release, Blending Times, is an intriguing and well-realized trip through post-bop modern jazz by a saxophonist who has continually sought to discover his true voice and who demonstrates clearly that he has found it. In the hands of a less self-assured player the array of grooves, styles, and playing on this disc would have sounded like someone who is lost. But Coltrane always plays like himself, remaining true to the musical coordinates he’s set for his own career.

Coltrane’s sound on the horn is well-rounded yet lean and muscular in the lower and mid range; in the intstrument’s upper range he can occaisionally approach the intense strains of his father’s most fervent improvisations. But Ravi never sounds like ‘son of’ anyone, including his late mother Alice, who was a strong musical influence on him. Ravi has not allowed his ideas and visions to move him past the point of his own technique. It should be obvious to any listener that Ravi has mastered the tenor saxophone and is now in the stage of bending his considerable technique to serve what he wants to say musically.

At the heart of Blending Times are a series of five well-realized improvisations ‘conceived and directed by Ravi Coltrane.’ These pieces are programmed throughout the CD, with one (“First Circuit”) as the second track, a second two (“Amalgams” and “Narcined”) in the exact middle of the disc, and the last set of two (“The Last Circuit” and “Before with After”) before the final track. These are pretty well-conceived group improvisations that seem to be based on thematic material worked out beforehand (indeed, the theme “Narcined” appears on Coltrane’s Moving Pictures CD). ‘First Circuit’ is kinetic and freewheeling, while “Amalgams” is a ballad that few listeners would probably identify as an improvisation if the liner notes did not do so. “Narcined” is perhaps the most John Coltrane-like piece here. After some noodling, drummer Ed Strickland locks into a groove with bassist Drew Gress. Coltrane plays long, deft lines that bounce harmonically through a lot of real estate even though he never leaves the groove nor gets all that far ‘out there.’ As always throughout Blending Times pianist Luis Perdomo is a rock solid base for Coltrane to bounce ideas off and to ground the saxophonist.

Blending Times is an appropriate title for an album whose tracks were recorded over the course of a year. Not all the improvisations nor all the composed pieces were recorded at the same time, either. Four tracks, including a really original reading of Monk’s “Epistrophy” were recorded in August of 2006. The lone Coltrane original composition (“A Still Life”) was recorded in February of 2007, with four tracks, including pianist Perdomo’s “Shine” and Ralph Alessi’s “One Wheeler Will” done in August of 2007. The final track, Charlie Haden’s “For Turiya” was recorded in September 2007. Yet there is never the sense that this is work from different periods of Coltrane’s development. The final statement is indeed blended, and masterfully so.

There’s no greater sign of Coltrane’s maturity as an artist than the final track on Blending Times, a gorgeous rendition of Charlie Haden’s piece “For Turiya” featuring only Coltrane, Haden’s bass, and Brandee Younger on harp. The harp was a key component of John Coltrane’s opening up to new harmonic conceptions, and he loved the instrument. Alice Coltrane learned to play it and performed on harp in her husband’s final groups as well as on her solo recordings. Haden plays beautifully as always, and the simple folksong-like statement of the melody is given great conviction by Ravi’s playing. A lesser player might have attempted to play more to demonstrate his ability to riff on this simple theme, but Ravi Coltrane presents it as the beauty of simplicity itself, his tone sharp, haunting, and unadorned.

Blending Times is a muture artist;s announcement of his arrival at a vision that is uniquely his. It is a wonderful album that will endure many listenings and will not likely sound dated for decades to come. When all is said and done, the improvisational artist must get up and play something that makes people feel, makes them dream, makes them remembers. Blending Times does all of this and has the makings of an instant classic.