Joshua Redman Notes.Indd
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Cal Performances Presents About the Artists Th ursday, February , , pm Joshua Redman (saxophone) is the most acclaimed In , Mr. Redman was named Artistic Zellerbach Hall and charismatic jazz artist to have emerged in the Director of the SFJAZZ Spring Season (a program decade of the s. Born in Berkeley, California, of the San Francisco Jazz Festival), and in he he is the son of legendary saxophonist Dewey launched the SFJAZZ Collective, an eight-piece Redman and dancer Renee Shedroff . Raised by ensemble dedicated to performing both commis- Joshua Redman Trio his mother in Berkeley, Mr. Redman attended the sioned works and new arrangements of the work of Berkeley public schools, where he began his study great jazz composers. of music, and performed with the Berkeley High Mr. Redman’s Grammy Award-nominated Jazz Ensemble. After Berkeley High, he attended Back East, released in April , is his second re- Harvard College, graduating summa cum laude, cording for Nonesuch and his fi rst in an acoustic Phi Beta Kappa, with a BA in Social Studies in trio setting. A marked contrast to Mr. Redman’s . He was accepted by Yale Law School, but plugged-in, groove-based sessions with the Elastic but postponed his entrance for a year to satisfy Band or his collaborations with the SFJAZZ a growing desire to pursue music. Four months Collective, this sax-bass-drums format harkens later, Mr. Redman’s decision was confi rmed when back to the Berkeley-based artist’s early days as a he won the fi rst Th elonious Monk International performer, more than years ago. He was indeed Saxophone Competition, judged by a panel com- working “Back East” then, in Boston and New prising Jimmy Heath, Branford Marsalis, Jackie York City, and necessity as much as aesthetics of- McLean, Frank Wess and Benny Carter. ten dictated the lineup. Sometimes a club he would Fully committed to a career in the arts, be playing simply would not have a piano, in which Mr. Redman was quickly signed by Warner Bros. case a quartet would be out of the question. But Records and issued his fi rst, self-titled album in Mr. Redman was not merely attempting to recall , where he was featured on tenor saxophone. his scuffl ing roots. Back East incorporates a wide Th at same year saw the release of Wish, where range of ideas, experiences and infl uences, creating Mr. Redman was joined by an all-star support- a multi-layered self-portrait via the sounds, people ing cast of Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden and Billy and places that have helped to shape his career. Higgins. His next recording, MoodSwing, intro- On Back East, Mr. Redman says, there is “a duced his fi rst permanent band, which included sense of return to a style I associate with the East three other young artists who have gone on to Coast, a return to playing—for lack of a better make their mark in the jazz world: pianist Brad description—modern, swing-based, acoustic jazz. Mehldau, bassist Christian McBride and drum- Th is was and is my musical bread and butter, the mer Brian Blade. Over a series of celebrated re- core of what I do. Th at approach to playing is one cordings including Spirit of the Moment: Live at I really immersed myself in and developed during the Village Vanguard, Freedom in the Groove and my time on the East Coast. In Boston, I wasn’t Timeless Tales (for Changing Times), Mr. Redman studying music, but I was hanging out with a lot established himself as one of the music’s most of musicians, and that’s where I really learned how consistent and successful bandleaders, and added to play. And when I fi rst moved to New York, I was soprano and alto saxophones to his instrumental still playing a lot of jam sessions, and doing lots of with arsenal. His second acclaimed quartet, featuring gigs at local clubs, bars and restaurants, sometimes pianist Aaron Goldberg, bassist Reuben Rogers with just bass and drums. So there’s this sense of and drummer Gregory Hutchinson, made its de- getting back to something that was really impor- Reuben Rogers, bass but on Mr. Redman’s album Beyond, and tant to me in terms of my musical development but and is also featured performing the saxophonist’s fi rst which I haven’t captured so much recently through extended composition on the disc Passage of touring and recording.” Time. A year later, Mr. Redman formed a new trio In , Mr. Redman started to compose new Greg Hutchinson, drums with keyboard player Sam Yahel and drummer material with an acoustic trio in mind. Th e process Brian Blade that is heard on Mr. Redman’s, Elastic, evolved into a sort of internal dialogue about the Cal Performances’ – season is sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank. as well as under the collective name Yaya. concepts of East and West, but not just in terms 20 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 21 About the Artists About the Artists of two distinct coasts. “East” for Redman also intensity to it, but that intensity can also be very local organizations, which enabled him to attend his parents. His father, a percussionist, recruited represents non-Western sounds—Middle Eastern, emotive and outward-reaching. Perhaps that’s part summer programs at Interlochen Arts Camp in young Mr. Hutchinson into a reggae band he led Indonesian, Indian, African—that have surfaced of the reason Sonny started to work with just bass Michigan and Berklee College of Music in Boston. called the Triadics, and his mother bequeathed to in his writing and arranging, and that came to play and drums, so he could explore and express his Upon completion of its fi ve-week program, Berklee him a vast record collection which had been in her an important, if subtle, role here. ideas and emotions as freely as possible. Th at’s one awarded Rogers a scholarship toward his degree family for at least two generations. “As I was writing,” Redman explains, “some of the things about trio that I fi nd so compelling. studies, and he earned his Bachelor of Music there Listening to jazz, soul and funk, Mr. Hutchin- eastern infl uences, which have always been in Th e absence of a dedicated harmonic instrument in . son developed his conception early. “Among my my music on some level, were coming out per- creates the possibility for much more freedom, in Mr. Rogers’ command of both the electric and primary infl uences is ‘Philly’ Joe Jones,” he admits, haps a little more strongly in this context. When many diff erent areas—harmonic, melodic, rhyth- acoustic bass has aided him in adapting to vari- “because he’s a streetwise cat who incorporated all I was really young, my mom took me to this place mic, formal, textural. It’s a lot of fun. But as the ous musical genres. Th is versatility, in addition to the elements of his life into his music. He was very, called the Center for World Music in Berkeley, saying goes, ‘With freedom, comes responsibility.’ the creative energy that he brings to the stage and very slick. Another inspiration is Charlie Parker. where I studied (on a very rudimentary level, of Playing trio can be uniquely liberating; and espe- recording studio, has made him one of the most I want to sing on the drums the way he sang on course) South Indian drumming and Indonesian cially challenging!” sought-after bassists of his generation. He has per- his horn.” Gamelan. She also took me to all sorts of music In addition to his own projects, Mr. Redman formed with such renowned jazz artists as Wynton Mr. Hutchinson’s own analysis of the styles and dance performances—Indian, Indonesian, has performed and recorded with such varied art- Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Joshua Redman, Marcus of his personal idols was enhanced by studies at Persian, North African, Japanese, Tibetan—you ists as Ray Brown, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Roberts, Nicholas Payton, Mulgrew Miller, Jackie the Manhattan School of Music and private les- name it. Th ere was a lot of that in the Bay Area the Dave Matthews Band, Jack DeJohnette, Bill McLean, Charles Lloyd and Dianne Reeves, sons with Marvin “Smitty” Smith and Kenny in those days—a really eclectic, outward-looking, Frisell, Charlie Haden, Herbie Hancock, Roy among others. He has toured extensively all over Washington. Says Mr. Washington, “Unlike many cross-cultural orientation.” Hargrove, Roy Haynes, Milt Jackson, Elvin Jones, the globe and has recorded on over CDs. drummers of his generation, Hutch listens, and is Th e East/West dichotomy soon became even Quincy Jones, Big Daddy Kane, B. B. King, the Ever committed to supporting the arts in more interested in being a team player than just more of a leitmotif. Says Mr. Redman, “One day Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, DJ Logic, Joe the Virgin Islands, Mr. Rogers returns when his banging the drums.” I had one of those cool, quintessentially st cen- Lovano, Yo-Yo Ma, Branford Marsalis, MeShell schedule permits to conduct music workshops in While still in school, Mr. Hutchinson made tury, digital music experiences. I had my iTunes Ndegeocello, Simon Rattle, Dewey Redman, local schools and organize fundraising concerts his professional debut with trumpeter Red Rodney, on shuffl e, and Sonny Rollins’ trio album Dianne Reeves, the Rolling Stones, John Scofi eld, that benefi t the education of today’s island youth. with whom he toured extensively before joining Way Out West came on. I had always loved that Soulive, String Cheese Incident, Clark Terry, Toots His musical endeavors come full circle during Betty Carter’s trio.