Saxophonist
Teodross Avery
revisits the music of one his earliest influences on the 2019 live album
After the Rain: A Night for Coltrane
. A native of the San Francisco Bay area,
Avery
first discovered
John Coltrane
in his teens while coming up as young jazz lion. While he would go on to explore the styles of other jazz icons, and even expand his purview beyond jazz with explorations into R&B, funk, and hip-hop, he would often return to
Coltrane
's mutative artistry for inspiration. Recorded at Oakland's The Sound Room,
After the Rain
finds
again ruminating on
's artistry in a single concert setting, backed by his quartet with pianist
Adam Shulman
, bassist
Jeff Chambers
, and drummer
Darrell Green
. Together, the tackle a nicely curated cross-section of
-associated tunes, achieving a balance between classics like
Mongo Santamaria
's "Afro Blue" and lesser-performed compositions like "After the Rain." As demonstrated by his propulsive take on "Afro Blue,"
plays with an aggressive soulfulness that balances engaging harmonic choices, with a push-it-to-the-limits "burn out" approach. Both aspects are displayed nicely throughout the album, and bring to mind
's late-'60s period when free jazz concepts, social unrest, and the ongoing civil rights movement were pushing his creativity to new heights. It's a sound he brings into sharp focus on "Bakai," off
's 1957
Prestige
date
. Opening with a series of rubato arpeggios,
wrenches deep guttural moans and skyward growls out of his saxophone before launching into the song's deep Afro-Latin groove. Elsewhere, he offers equally engaging readings of "Blues Minor" and "Africa," both from 1961's
Africa/Brass
, and closes with a deeply felt reading of "Pursuance" from 1965's landmark
A Love Supreme
. The most remarkable aspect of
's tribute to
is just how present, alive, and deeply personal it feels. ~ Matt Collar