Jazz saxophonist and clarinetist Ravi Coltrane, son of jazz music icons John and Alice Coltrane, was born in Long Island, New York on August 6, 1965. After the death of his father when he was less than two years old, his mother moved the family to Los Angeles, California. More interested in photography and film than music, he did study clarinet when he was young, but wasn’t fully committed to the instrument. Switching his focus to saxophone while in high school, he continued focus on other subjects outside of music. In 1982, his older brother John Coltrane, Jr. was killed in a car crash, an incident that had a profound effect on Ravi Coltrane. Dropping out of high school, he re-discovered a true passion for music and enrolled at the California Institute of the Arts. He began his musical career as a sideman, playing with artists such as Branford Marsalis, Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, McCoy Tuner, Stanley Clarke, Pharoah Sanders, Carlos Santana, and many others. Ravi Coltrane joined jazz group Grand Central and appeared on their three albums: Sax Storm (1992), The Chase (1993), Tenor Enclave: A Tribute to Hank Mobley (1995). Ravi Coltrane released his debut solo album, Moving Pictures, in 1998. He followed that with albums such as From the Round Box (2000), Mad 6 (2005), In Flux (2005), Blending Times (2009), and Spirit Fiction (2012). Ravi Coltrane also appeared on albums by Saxophone Summit (2008), The Blue Note 7 (2009), Jack DeJohnette (2016), and Bill Laswell (2020).
