Sean Trane
I must admit that I’ve lost track of Trane’s son’s musical footsteps for a while now, but I fell upon his (for now) latest release at the library, and I took it home for a spin or two. The least we can say is that Trane and Alice’s son is totally submerged by his father’s musical legacy, but then again choosing to be a jazz saxman didn’t leave him much room. Don’t make me say what I didn’t say, because I can’t judge too much since I haven’t heard much recent of him, but with Lovano backing him up, close comparisons are inevitable, especially if one hears the Tyner-esque piano note-tickling from both Perdomo and Allen.
The early part of the album is somewhat off to a dissonant start with the opening Road Cross, but it calms down quickly with the introspective Klepto and later on the reflective The Change. A bit later on, the album picks up pace with the Hudson piece. To reduce this album as a Trane homage or study would be selling short Ravi and Joe’s talents, not the least aspect being the compositions, as over half of them are penned collectively; this of course not counting the Coleman and Motian covers that are more or less closing the album, the former being the more exciting piece of the album.
Definitely closer to a standard late 60’s jazz album though a touch of 80’s feel can also be detected) than a Nu-jazz thingie, Ravi’s Spirit Fiction is too Trane-ish not to be set in your shelves right next to his father’s works. Does that make it indispensable, though?