Ravi Coltrane & Coltraxx at At SFJazz, Miner Auditorium

Ravi Coltrane & Coltraxx
Miner Auditorium
San Francisco, CA
July 24, 2025

“My father’s music expanded over the short period he created it, and he was able to do something that, to this day, still serves as a real guiding light for all of us, for all people. “
—Ravi Coltrane

Ravi Coltrane's acoustic quartet, Coltraxx, took the stage at San Francisco's Miner Auditorium on July 24 and wove a tapestry of sound that honored jazz's lineage while boldly pushing its boundaries. The quartet—Coltrane on saxophones, David Virelles on piano, Dezron Douglas on bass, and Jonathan Blake on drums—opened the evening with Coltrane coaxing a single, crystalline saxophone note into the hushed room. That tone lingered as Virelles joined with a quiet cascade of arpeggios; Douglas added a soft pizzicato undercurrent, and Blake's brushes murmured against the snare. Gradually, this ritualistic emergence coalesced into the brooding theme of Coltrane's original "Be Careful What You Wish For," each instrument's voice layering gently like watercolors in a painting, until the melody stood fully formed.

With the second song, "Intervals," the energy shifted: Virelles's left hand offered rolling chord figures that prompted Blake to exchange brushes for crisp sticks, and Coltrane leaned into his tenor's upper register, unleashing rapid-fire squeaks that gave way to a taut drum solo. When the sax returned, Coltrane bent at the waist, almost scooping notes from the floor before arching upright to fling them skyward. Douglas's plucked bass lines danced beneath the tumult. Virelles's flourishes shimmered overhead, creating a spirited conversation among the four musicians that had the audience erupting in applause after every climactic enhancement.

The mood then turned introspective for "Shudder," Coltrane's elegiac ballad performed on soprano sax. Under dim lights, his plaintive tone—captured in every quivering note—felt almost spiritual. Virelles's delicate right-hand runs hovered in the rafters, Douglas's plucked bass was the melancholic heartbeat, and Blake's subdued cymbal work sustained the mood. Coltrane's bowing over the soprano's bell only deepened that sense of reverent quiet. "Fours" continued the reflection: sparse piano chords gave way to Douglas's lyrical bass line and Blake's brushwork, setting a mournful stage for Coltrane's tenor. His solo unfolded with graceful restraint, allowing silence to speak as loudly as sound, until Virelles's ghostly runs alternated with brooding chord punctuations before the full quartet reunited in a shared exhale.

The homage deepened with Charlie Hayden's "Silence," introduced on a horn whose glassy timbre rang clear. A motif of carefully spaced notes—each pulse clean and bell-like—led into Virelles's spiraling arpeggios. Blake's drums shifted from a light shuffle to an assertive march, and Douglas's bass lines solidified the groove. Coltrane's sax soared before he stepped aside, allowing Virelles to conjure spectral piano harmonies that melted into a single resonant chord.

Ravi Coltrane - ©2025 Steve Roby

Then came the evening's most personal moment: Coltrane announced, "We're playing something of John Coltrane's... from his last recording session. The record is titled Expression, and the piece is simply called 'Expression.' My father's music expanded over the short period he created it, and he was able to do something that, to this day, still serves as a real guiding light for all of us, for all people."

From the first grave tenor note, the quartet struck a balance between reverence and reinvention. Douglas anchored the bluesy pulse, Virelles and Blake wove interlocking rhythms, and Coltrane's horn slipped between plaintive whispers and rippling flutters, building to a peak where his flutter-tongued soaring gave both homage and fresh declaration. When the final notes softened into silence, the hush that followed was almost tactile.

The finale, Alice Coltrane's "Los Caballos," opened on alto sax with chimelike phrases hanging in the air before Blake's brushes tapped a heartbeat into them. Douglas's warm bass lines and Virelles's piano chords soon unfolded into a bright, Latin-tinged groove. Coltrane's horn dipped in playful dives and soared on high, his fingers fluttering, while Virelles added thunderous chords as the ensemble locked into joyful momentum. When the piece circled back to its opening motif, the packed house rose in a spontaneous standing ovation. The band joined for a bow, arm-in-arm, smiles affirming the evening's triumph.

After a brief departure from the stage, Coltrane returned alone, unannounced, to lean down and thank several front-row attendees, some by name—his quiet, personal "thank you" sounding more like a genuine farewell than a formality.

Across seven compositions, Coltrane & Coltraxx demonstrated why this SFJAZZ residency has been not only an artistic statement but a living legacy. Whether channeling his father's late-period intensity on "Expression," honoring his mother's spiritual vision in "Los Caballos," or unveiling his originals with adventurous restraint, Coltrane held the audience rapt. Supported by Virelles's kaleidoscopic piano voice, Douglas's resonant modern bass, and Blake's fiery Philadelphia-rooted drumming, he transformed Miner Auditorium into both a reflective sanctuary and a launchpad for exploration.

For musicians, industry professionals, and jazz enthusiasts alike, this performance underscored jazz's enduring power: rooted in history yet ever renewed by those willing to listen deeply and speak boldly.

Setlist

Be Careful What You Wish For; Intervals; Shudder; Fours; Silence; Expression; Los Caballos.