Met Ravi Coltrane Today

Ravi Coltrane is awesome...and he inspired my picture to the left
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you try getting the palm keys of your sax with the pearls showing on the left side of you head...that was hard...haha

saxymanzach said:

And if you did talk about papa Coltrane, how did he handle that? I'm sure he gets a million questions a day about his father, and that would annoy me after a while.

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He was actually very cool about it. Talked about it like it was one of the first times he was asked. I didn't have time to ask him a million things because there was a line behind me waiting to talk to him so I just asked him if he still played his dad's music a lot, or if he tried to get away from that (meaning, create his own image). Now, I don't know too much about Ravi Coltrane, for all I know he has a cd out of nothing but his dad's music, but he simply told me that, "music is music." Then he went on to tell me the other day (this was at a Jazz Camp for Adults and he was the guest artists) with one of the groups he did Giant Steps.

I think he realizes obviously the importance his father had on the Jazz realm not only with his playing but also with his own pieces (Giant Steps, Blue Trane, etc.) so he has no problem playing them. He had a very simple explanation for it all, "music is music."

I also very briefly got talking about if he played with McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, and the rest of his Dad's bandmates and he hasn't for awhile, in fact he's been with his band for a long time now, but I think he did sorta start out gigging with Elvin Jones, and then later did some stuff with McCoy Tyner, but now has his own dedicated group.

I also asked him if he played with his parents when he was a kid. Now, I immediately found out his Dad died while he was still a baby (I wasn't totally sure about that, that's why I didn't limit it to his mom) but he did say he played a lot with him mom while he was younger.

All in all he was very cool about it and signed autographs and for whomever asked.

Real Quick Note: They had a concert the night before this Masterclass and without telling him (because they started a bit early or caught the sound guy off guard so they weren't able to check with him) they recorded the concert. Now, when I was there at the masterclass, the camp directors obviously told him, but they seemed a bit timid to do so haha. Didn't want to **** him off I guess. But he was really cool about it, wasn't mad, and just said he'll give it a listen and then see if it was worth keeping.

I liked him a lot. He was very friendly. Didn't come off to be rude or anything like that in the slightest. Smiled the whole time. Much different than the time I met Lenny Pickett, who I remember for completely different reasons.

milandro said:

Oh! The Moravian College, that's in Bethlehem PA, Isn't it? Nice town! Been there. Spent couple of weeks there a couple of years ago! Nice to hear your comments on Ravi Coltrane. I always see his pictures when I go to Amsterdam Winds (he had been visiting them at their stand at the North Sea Jazz Festival). He is a great player. Is is still happy with his Borgani? He endorses them, don't know if he really uses them.

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yeah, Moravian. I'm actually going to be attending there this fall as a Music Education major. It should be an awesome time.

Sorry, but I don't have a clue about his Borgani. He came out and played real quick, and then put it away and continued with the Master Class. Never got a chance to ask about his horn. Only had so much time.

trinitron said:

not meaning to hijack the thread, but what is it that you remember about Lenny?

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I met him at the last IAJE Festival when I went. After a concert he did. Absolutely amazing concert. Anyway, afterward I went to go meet him and get pictures and stuff with my friends and teacher. He was already giving them out so that's why we just figured we could.

While he did allow us to take pictures and he autographed stuff for us (I'll give him that) the entire time he wasn't doing with a smile on his face or anything. We tried to ask him a question or make small talk or even just compliment him and he'd just be like, oh yeah, thanks. And the entire time we'd be talking to him he'd just be packing up his case or something, not making eye contact with us.

I don't know, the whole thing felt like we were intruding on him and he didn't want to be there and he was doing all of it so we'd just go away. That's basically the impression I and my friends got. I mean, I know he probably doesn't love putting his name all over things and taking pictures, but you think he'd at least do it for his fans. And at least make some eye contact or smile. I just had a bad impression from him.

I'm sure he's a nice guy and a good teacher. Just my first impression of the guy.

Now, Maria Schnieder, she's a great person. When I met her she was nothing but smiles and kind words. She even knew how to spell my name (Robbie, with an IE, not Y.)

Ha, Ornette Coleman was the weirdest. I think he's just too old to make small talk with. I mentioned his concert he was going to have the next day, and he had no idea what I was talking about. I had to tell him he had a concert. Haha, then he signed my CD case upside down, and wrote an illegible autograph haha. Good laugh though.

Sonny Rollins was cool. Funny guy.