ziggy marleyjulian lennon
jason bonham
norah jones
neneh cherry
femi kuti
jakob dylan
teddy thompson
liam finn
deni hines
jeff buckley
rufus wainright
martha wainright
natalie cole
bebel gilberto
zak starkey
nancy sinatra
lisa marie presley
roseanne cash
anoushka shankar
vieux farka toure
chynna phillips
and....
ravi coltrane the latest it seems of children of famous and successful musicians
out in the world carrying forward a legacy or carving out their own place
i saw this show advertised and the initial thought was gotta see that one
but then second thoughts about one artist moonlighting another kicked in
in this case father john coltrane he of legendary jazz musician status
something of the musical snob in me meant i was not sure it was for me
however on the day of the show i found myself in christchurch
and decided to let fate play it's role in my attendance, or not
if i could get a good seat i would go if not then no show
bingo - 1 seat available 4 rows back smack in the middle - decision made
the james hay theatre at the christchurch town hall is an excellent venue
lots of wood and height, comfortable seats, great views
as the band was introduced and picked up their instruments
the other major feature of the venue came forward - superb acoustics
the upright bass in particular was strong and dominant
allowing the other instruments of piano, tenor sax and percussion to live on top
and that generally is how the music was for the entire performance
ravi coltrane may have big shoes to fill or at least high expectations to meet
but my impression was that he his finding his own way
some reading indicated to me he is very well regarded
not only as a musician but also as a composer, producer and archivist
some of the tunes in the evening's performances were back-announced
the most memorable ones were his own compositions
plenty of variety in beats, feel, and rhythm
and total consistency in the standard of musicianship
he really did make his saxophone sing
head-down, toe-tapping, melodic playing of his instrument
and also a lot of standing aside to allow his fellow musicians to perform
luis perdomo on piano often slightly behind the beat and with a gentle and melodic touch
dre gress on upright bass totally fluid and holding it all together
ej strickland on drums providing exceptional high end percussion
these 3 in flight were outstanding and worth the admission price alone
ravi coltrane allowing and providing appropriate recognition of their skills
the night's music just got better and better
2 hours went by very quickly
ending with a spontaneous standing ovation
john who?
