With the release of his fifth album, Ravi Coltrane solidifies his position as one of the most distinctive saxophonists in jazz. Coltrane nods to the past with a spirited rendition of Thelonious Monk's "Epistrophy," but most of the album is thoroughly contemporary. The sidemen here are excellent choices. Pianist Louis Perdomo not only plays wonderfully throughout; he contributes the album's opening cut, "Shine," a gorgeous ballad and perfect vehicle for Coltrane's languid side. Bassist Drew Gress and drummer E.J. Strickland are more than up to the task on five of the album's most challenging cuts, improvisations conceived by Coltrane. Not quite developed into finished compositions, these excursions capture something of the raw energy so vital to jazz. The album's last tune, "For Turiya," is its most touching. The Charlie Haden song, composed for Coltrane's late mother, harpist Alice Coltrane, is played beautifully in an arrangement featuring Brandee Younger on harp and Haden on bass.