Telarc
2008
Seraphic Light
About This Album
There's a bittersweet back story to this second Saxophone Summit recording, but the music never lets on. The first outing, 2004's Gathering of Spirits, recorded seven years after their first gigs together, featured Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, and Michael Brecker, nothing less than three of the most innovative saxmen of the modern era. Since then, Brecker has passed away, leaving a gigantic gap in the jazz world. Rather than retire the occasional project, Lovano and Liebman smartly recruited tenorist Ravi Coltrane, son of John and Alice Coltrane (who passed away the same week as Brecker), to fill out the trio for this release. Ravi Coltrane is neither John Coltrane nor Michael Brecker, although to his credit, in his decade-plus on the scene, he's never tried to be anyone other than himself, and accordingly he's been hailed as one of the more promising newcomers. And to their credit, the three musicians neither worship John Coltrane's legacy here (they initially formed to honor him), nor do they avoid it. On listening to Seraphic Light, naturally the first question is how Ravi Coltrane holds his own alongside Liebman and Lovano. The answer is, quite well. While the music undeniably has a different vibe to it than it did with Brecker, that's what makes it such a worthy successor: it builds on what came before, with no attempt to replicate it.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,5,7,8 and 10)

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