Jack DeJohnette, Ravi Coltrane, Matthew Garrison, In Movement (ECM)
Drummer DeJohnette leads John Coltrane’s saxophonist son Ravi and Jimmy Garrison’s bassist son Matthew in an album that has majesty, reflection, calm and flashes of fire. The senior Coltrane and the senior Garrison were inspirations to DeJohnette’s generation. In a note, he expresses fatherly feelings for the sons, to whom he was close as they were growing up. The younger Coltrane gives his father’s “Alabama†a somber tenor sax reading enhanced by DeJohnette’s hushed cymbals commentary. On soprano he make an impressionist exploration of “Blue in Green,†whose original Miles Davis recording featured his father. Garrison’s subtle use of electronics is effective. DeJohnette plays piano on “Soulful Ballad.†Throughout, whether conversational in Earth, Wind and Fire’s “Serpentine Fire†or explosive in tribute to fellow drummer Rashied Ali, DeJohnette reminds anyone who may have forgotten that he is a drummer of infinite invention and flexibility.