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Ravi Coltrane Quartet at the New Hazlett Theater

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By Mackenzie Horne
October 15, 2019
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Ravi Coltrane Quartet
New Hazlett Theater
Pittsburgh, PA
October 5, 2019

Since 2007, the Kente Arts Alliance (KAA) has worked diligently to underscore the relationship between the arts and community by providing accessible cultural programming within the city of Pittsburgh. KAA has hosted a number of elder jazz statesmen, including

Hugh Masakela

" data-original-title="" title="">Hugh Masakela,

Billy Harper

saxophone
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Harper, and

Geri Allen

piano
1957 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">Geri Allen, and next-generation voices such as

James Carter

multi-instrumentalist
b.1969

" data-original-title="" title="">James Carter,

Antonio Hart

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Hart, and

Charenee Wade

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Charenee Wade. Mensah Wali, a member of Kente's Board of Directors and founder of the International African Arts Festival, took to the stage at the historic New Hazlett Theater to introduce the quartet.

"We don't realize we're in history," Wali prefaced. "20 years from now, you'll look back and say, 'I was there.' Some of us can look back 50 years and say, 'I was there.'" (As a close educational affiliate with The East in the early 1970s, which hosted

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

woodwinds
1935 - 1977

" data-original-title="" title="">Rahsaan Roland Kirk,

Pharoah Sanders

saxophone, tenor
1940 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Pharoah Sanders, and

Betty Carter

vocals
1929 - 1998

" data-original-title="" title="">Betty Carter to name a few, Mr. Wali is something of an authority on the subject of looking back on cultural history.)

Pianist

Orrin Evans

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Orrin Evans, bassist

Dezron Douglas

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Dezron Douglas, and drummer

Kush Abadey

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Kush Abadey surrounded Coltrane, who quietly approached the stage with his tenor cradled against his chest. The members of this imposing quartet have collaborated on several projects in various configurations over the past decade but each individual remains so strong in his own voice that each performance reaches uncharted territory.

Coltrane opened the concert with "Cobbs Hill" from

Ralph Alessi

trumpet
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Ralph Alessi's 2011 release Wiry Strong (Clean Feed Records), which featured Coltrane,

Andy Milne

piano
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Andy Milne,

Mark Ferber

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Mark Ferber, and

Drew Gress

bass
b.1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Drew Gress. Evans and Douglas constructed a meditative soundscape with Abadey's occasional sober punctuation with his cymbals. The rhythm section escalated the tension as Coltrane stood patiently in the eye of sound hurricane. The saxophonist, an altruistic player by all counts, hit the release valve when he entered the storm, dipping and leaning with each line. His firm dynamic grasp created the illusion of multiple saxophonists playing in unison.

For the quartet's rendition of

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker's "Segment," Coltrane traded his tenor for his sopranino. He introduced the tune alongside Douglas who is, in every way that matters, the quintessential bassist. Douglas, a prot��g�� of late altoist

Jackie McLean

saxophone, alto
1932 - 2006

" data-original-title="" title="">Jackie McLean, trained his characteristic canon-like tone on the heart of the matter throughout the concert. His straightforward performance and keen ears enriched every aspect of the group's interplay. Abadey provided periodic shocks to the water, pushing and challenging the musicians around him. The creative drummer weaved between time feels, infusing selections like "Giant Steps" and "Lush Life" with dangerous energy.

Coltrane returned to the tenor for "For Turyia," a tune composed by

Charlie Haden

bass, acoustic
1937 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Haden for his friend and collaborator

Alice Coltrane

piano
1937 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Alice Coltrane. Abadey delivered a gentle performance with brushes and mallets as Evans constructed lines with his right hand that were worthy of ear service in the world's most illustrious symphony halls. The saxophonist continued his celebration of his parents with "Jagadishwar" from Alice Coltrane's final Impulse record Translinear Light (2004) and

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane's "Giant Steps."

Recalled for an encore, the quartet capped the evening off with a moving performance of

Billy Strayhorn

piano
1915 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life." The gesture was not lost upon Coltrane's audience—Strayhorn, a graduate of Westinghouse High School, occupies a special place in the hearts of Pittsburghers.

Beyond his technical skill and creative interpretations, perhaps Ravi Coltrane's most commendable attribute is his ability to treat all musics with great care. When synthesized with the saxophonist's spiritual awareness, old tunes are reborn and new soundscapes are breached. Coltrane is often saddled with decades' worth of legacy, but it is a weight he carries with grace and patience. Coltrane bares this load across his back as he moves deftly along his own footpath, one that audiences will look back upon in twenty years and collectively say, "I was there."

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