EMI’s Blue Note Records has signed saxophonist, composer and bandleader Ravi Coltrane to its roster. Coltrane will record his debut for the label in December, with a release date scheduled for Spring 2011. Coltrane has previously recorded for the label as a member of the Blue Note 7, the all-star septet that released the album Mosaic: A Celebration of Blue Note Records and embarked on an extensive North American tour in honor of the label’s 70th anniversary in 2009.

This Fall, Coltrane will embark on a short run of U.S. tour dates with his quartet to prepare material for the new recording, including engagements at the Village Vanguard in New York (September 21-26), Yoshi’s in Oakland (December 3-5), The Dakota in Minneapolis (December 6-7) and the Jazz Showcase in Chicago (December 9-12). In addition to a European tour with the Saxophone Summit in November, Coltrane will also be heading to London this month where he will be doing a BBC Radio 1 session and performing at the London Institute of Contemporary Arts with his cousin, the experimental hip-hop and electronic-music producer Flying Lotus (born Steven Ellison), on whose new album, Cosmogramma, Coltrane also appears.

Coltrane, 44, arrives at Blue Note Records (the label where his father, John Coltrane, made his landmark 1957 album Blue Train) leading his formidable and longtime quartet: pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Drew Gress and drummer E.J. Strickland. The second son of John and Alice Coltrane, Ravi has played with some of the world’s most renowned jazz musicians (Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette and others) and has released five albums as a leader.

For more information, including a complete tour schedule, go to www.ravicoltrane.com.

Pictured above in EMI’s Manhattan offices are (L-R): Eli Wolf (Vice President of A&R, Blue Note Records), Bruce Lundvall (Chairman Emeritus, Blue Note Records), Ravi Coltrane, and Ian Ralfini (President, Blue Note Records).