''In Flux'' is an album by the American musician

Ravi Coltrane Ravi Coltrane (born August 6, 1965) is an American jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced pianist Luis Perdomo, guitarist David Gilmore, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi. Biography Ravi Coltrane is the son of sa ...

, released in 2005. It sold around 3,700 copies in its first year of release. The album title alluded to Coltrane's growth as a musician. "Away" was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, in the "Best Jazz Instrumental Solo" category. Coltrane supported ''In Flux'' with a North American tour.

Production

The album was produced by Coltrane. "United" is a version of the

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

song. "Dear Alice", dedicated to Coltrane's mother, was written in 1986 while Coltrane was in college. Luis Perdomo played piano on ''In Flux''.

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that Coltrane is "fascinated on one hand by miniatures and on the other by the idea of longer songs that sound like collective improvisation from start to finish." ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' stated that "the album's ballads—'Leaving Avignon' and 'Dear Alice' especially—have an air of mystery to them and are all the more lovely for not always behaving like ballads; Perdomo and the others speed up the tempo in response to the tenor's slightest ripple." ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' noted that "the edgiest items here are miniatures, less than two minutes each." The ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'' deemed the album "a quartet date full of passion and exploration."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote: "Quietly plugging away at his career, never exploiting his family name and focusing exclusively on deeply intellectual, harmonically complex post-bop, the least you can feel when listening to Coltrane is respect."

Track listing

References

{{reflist Ravi Coltrane albums 2005 albums Savoy Records albums