By Chet Williamson went to Berklee College of Music and axophonist Joshua Redman is a New England Conservatory." reluctant young lion. Though he A major decision to follow the jazz life roars with all the fury and fero- came when Redman won firstprize in the Sciousness of the tenor titans who Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz climbed the mountain. before him, Saxophone Competition. The recogni- Redman would rather respect the past tion rippled through the jazz community. than be lifted up in com- The followingyear he won best new artist parison. in Jazz Time's readers poll. In 1993, "If I saw myself as the Down Beat criticspoll voted him the No. n ext 1 tenor saxophonist deserving wider great recognition. In 1994 Down Beat readers hope or poll crowned him "jazz musician of the the year" and his release Wish won jazz torch album of the year. bearer I'd be intimidated, Redman has arrived and conquered. but I don't see myself as that," he said, Along the way he's performed and/or speaking by phone from his home in New recorded with a varietyof artists from Milt York. "All I am is a young musician who Jackson, Elvin Jones and Roy Haynes to is serious about the music." B.B. King, Big Daddy Kane and Chaka Joshua Redman Dubbed the "crown prince" ofthe tenor Kahn. saxophone by Downbeat magazine in Now the newly organized Mass Jazz 1994, Redman is as serious as your life Festival brings Joshua Redman and his coordinator for WICN. "All of us at highlytouted. In a challenging program of about jazz. In fact, he was born into the quartet to Worcester at 8 p.m. on WICN and lAS are thrilled that such ten original compositions and four stan- music. His father is Dewey Redman, an Saturday, Nov. 4, at Mechanics Hall. superb musicians are coming to dards, he maps out the entire creative lin- often-overlooked great saxophonist who The MassJazz Festivalisthe collabora- Mechanics Hall, which has been recog- eage of the saxophone. The link clasps is best known for his work with Ornette tion of two local cultural organizations, nized as one of the fmest concert halls in together Coleman Hawkins' intelligent Coleman and Keith Jarrett. the International Artist Series (lAS) and the country." articulations, Lester Young's melodicism, Young Redman is also a serious stu- radio station WICN, 90.5 FM. The series Redman will also give a workshop Dexter Gordon's bop extensions, Sonny dent. Always has been. Born in 1969 in continues with Joey DeFrancesco and Saturday afternoon (time TBA) at WPl's Rollins' athleticism, Coltrane's upper Berkeley, Calif., he was valedictorian at Ernestine Anderson on Feb. 9 and Milt Alden Hall.Admission is $6 to the general structure explorations and spiritualism his high school graduation. In 1991 he Jackson on March 15. public.Call 831-5749formore information. and the oblique romanticism of his dad. graduated from Harvard and was sched- According to Charles Breckling, execu- Redman is touring in support of his lat- The chain completes itselfwith Redman. uled to attend Yale Law School when he tive director of lAS, the new festival will est two-CD release Spirit of the Moment, "I've been very influenced by that tradi- declined in order to pursue a career in also focus on community and education- recorded live at New York City's leg- tion but with all my influences, I've never music. al outreach through a series ofjazz perfor- endary Village Vanguard. Backed by his really sat down and tried to emulate "I played in the Harvard Jazz Band for mances and workshops in the region quartet of pianist Peter Martin, bassist them," Redman said. "I've really just lis- a couple of years," he said, remembering which will feature musicians throughout Christopher Thomas and drummer Brian tened to the music and been influenced by his days in the hub. "Rather than going the area. Blade, Redman easilyproves why he is so the spirit of the music."~ • back home, during the summers, I would ''The time has come for central New go across the river, from Cambridge to England to stage a really top- notch jazz Boston and hang out with musicians who festival," said Steve Charbonneau, jazz