There was a nice piece on NPR (by John Ydstie) featuring Joshua Redman today (photo left by Michael Wilson). He’s one of my favourite of the young (relatively) saxophonists on the Jazz scene today. (Some Wiki info here.) When I was an East coaster I saw him a number of times in concert, and he was always very good indeed. His albums are very good too – fun and full of personality, very soulful, although not hugely ground-breaking (not that this is always necessary to make a great musician). By the way, Joshua Redman’s music is actually a good starter place for people who might want to start out in Jazz by listening to some of the newer younger tenor sax players. He has a good way of taking you by the hand and leading you gently through the terrain.
He talks about his new album “Back East” on the extended NPR piece and plays some pieces for them too (they visit him during rehearsals with his new trio at Blues Alley in DC). Trio? Yes, he’s trying a trio configuration, which ought to be interesting. And yes, “Back East” is a reference to Sonny Rollins’ classic trip album “Way Out West”.
-cvj
