Like his legendary, almost mythic father, John Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane is a tenor saxophonist , but he didn’t go into the family business the usual way. Ravi was only two years old when his father died so the elder Coltrane's musical legacy wasn't an issue for the son until much later on. Young Ravi listened to Motown, James Brown, funk, classical music, and rock; he didn’t get seriously into jazz until his late teens. After schooling, Ravi got practical experience with drummer Elvin Jones and pianist Joanne Brackeen. Ravi Coltrane's sound is huskier and more mercurial, somewhat evoking Joe Henderson in phrasing or Johnny Griffin in its linearity than that of his father.