Redman, Joshua

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Joshua Redman

Saxophonist

In the spring of 1991 Joshua Redman was finishing up an undergraduate degree at Harvard University and jamming informally with friends in the Boston area. Two years later he was performing alongside fellow saxophonists Illinois Jacquet and U.S. President Bill Clinton on the White House lawn. Rarely has a jazz musician gone from obscurity to international stardom in such a brief span of time. By age 24 Redman had appeared onstage and on recordings with some of the greatest names in jazz, made two critically acclaimed albums under his own name, and toured nationally with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. With his stunning instrumental technique, intellectual prowess, and handsome appearance, Redman was by the spring of 1994 one of the most talked-about people in music.

Much like an earlier jazz wunderkind, Wynton Marsalis, who by the age of 19 was playing with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Redman has received a great deal of attention because of his youth. Bassist Charlie Haden, for example, who appeared on Redman’s second solo album, Wish, described the saxophonistto Down Beat’s Zan Stewart as “very mature and very deep—way ahead for his age.” Yet Redman himself has seemed largely unimpressed with the hype. “I’m not a great jazz musician,” he insisted to New York’s Stephen J. Dubner. “I’m a beginner. I’ve been playing this music seriously for two years.” And, as he told James T. Jones IV of USA Today, “Youth is not going to sell the music now. People are looking for substance.”

It is that quest for “substance” in his own work that has prompted Redman to work extensively with veteran musicians. On Wish, for example, he was joined by guitarist Pat Metheny and drummer Billy Higgins in addition to Haden. “It was a music lesson,” he told Down Beat’s Pat Cole. “It was a chance to learn from three of my idols.” When he signed his recording contract with Warner Bros., he insisted that he be allowed to work as a sideman as well as a leader. “That’s going to be an ongoing part of my career,” he told Cole. “It’s very, very important for me to continue to play with master musicians.”

Redman’s musical education began at an early age. He was born in Berkeley, California, and was raised by his mother, Renee Shedroff, an artists’ model, dancer, and librarian with an Orthodox Jewish background. Shedroff observed her son’s musical interests almost immediately; she related to Stewart of Down Beat, “Even as a baby, I noticed he would perk up to any kind of musical sound. I’d take Joshua to gamelan [percussion orchestra] concerts, and he’d come home and line up pots and pans and dishes in sequence according to tone.” When her son was only five, Shedroff enrolled Redman in music classes at Berkeley’s Center for

For the Record…

Born February 1, 1969, in Berkeley, CA; son of Dewey Redman (a jazz saxophonist) and Renee Shedroff (an artists’ model, dancer, and librarian). Education: Graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University, 1991.

Enrolled in music classes at Berkeley’s Center for World Music at age five; after experimenting with recorder, guitar, and piano, began playing tenor saxophone at age 10; member of a jazz band at Berkeley High School, 1983-86; performed with Harvard University’s jazz band and participated in informal jam sessions in the Boston area, 1986-91; moved to Brooklyn and began performing and recording with such jazz artists as drummers Elvin Jones and Jack DeJohnette, bassist Charlie Haden, and guitarist Pat Metheny; signed with Warner Bros., 1992, and released debut album, Joshua Redman, 1993; performed on the White House lawn with President Bill Clinton ,1993; performed extensively with his own quartet and toured with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, 1994.

Awards: First place award, Thelonius Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition, 1991; named “Best New Artist” by Jazz Times, 1992, and “Hot Jazz Artist of 1993” by Rolling Stone and “#1 Tenor Saxophonist (Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition)” by a Down Beat critics’ poll, both 1993.

Addresses: Record company —Warner Bros., 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY, 91505.

World Music and later encouraged his experimentations on recorder, piano, and guitar.

Shedroff also influenced Redman through her extensive record collection, which included discs by saxophonists John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly, as well as Joshua’s father, Dewey Redman, a well-respected and influential artist who played with fellow saxophonist Ornette Coleman for many years. During his youth, Joshua saw his father only once a year; nevertheless, as Redman pointed out to Herb Boyd of Detroit’s Metro Times, “He still had a huge influence on my life. I’ve listened to his records quite a bit over the years.”

Even though Joshua later achieved the kind of commercial and critical success that had largely eluded his father, the younger Redman maintained cordial ties with his father. As he commented to New York writer Dubner, “I have a good relationship with my dad—it’s just not a father-son relationship. It’s more of a buddy relationship, a mentor-student relationship.”

Redman began performing on the tenor saxophone when he was ten. As he told People’s David Grogan, he was drawn to the sound of the instrument, “so commanding, yet at the same time so compassionate.” He quickly became a proficient player and, after entering Berkeley High School in 1983, joined the school’s big band. Yet he also made the important decision that academics would take precedence over music. As he told Down Beat contributor Stewart, “I wanted to make sure that even if I ended up in music, I would never be forced to do something that runs counter to my artistic instincts in order to put food on the table.” Redman’s hard work paid off; he was valedictorian of his class and was accepted to Harvard on a full scholarship.

While at Harvard, Redman spent time with musicians at Boston’s Berklee School of Music and participated in a few informal jam sessions, yet his focus remained mainly on his education. He graduated summa cum laude in 1991 and was accepted to Yale University’s law school. The young saxophonist, however, decided to move to New York City and explore the music scene there before continuing his studies.

Redman’s performing career shifted into high gear after he won first prize at the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition, judged by such jazz luminaries as Benny Carter, Jackie McLean, and Branford Marsalis. Soon he was receiving offers to perform and record with some of the most important figures in jazz. In 1992 Warner Bros. Records’ Matt Pierson, who had been profoundly moved by Redman’s performance at the competition, signed the saxophonist to a major contract.

Gary Giddins of the Village voicecalled Redman’sself-titled first album for Warner Bros. “one of the most impressive debut albums I’ve ever heard” and praised the conviction of the saxophonist’s performances as well as the sense of balance and architecture in his solos. The second album, Wish, was equally well received; Jim Fusilli of the Wall Street Journal called it “jazz with a small combo at its best” and commented that Redman “displays a style that is respectful of the tradition but not overly bound by it.” Wish featured an intriguing blend of repertory, including Ornette Coleman’s quirky blues “Turnaround,” several pieces by Redman himself, and a touching version of Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” performed as a duet with Pat Metheny. A phenomenal commercial success, the album placed near the top of the jazz charts and within a week of its release became the most-played jazz album on radio stations nationwide, according to the Gavin Report.

Early 1994 saw Redman continuing to build an international reputation. He performed extensively with his own quartet, which featured the brilliant young bassist Christian McBride. On tour with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, he re-created Paul Gonsalves’s famous 1956 solo on Duke Ellington’s “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue,” though with an interpretation all his own. What the future holds for the young musician is uncertain, but there are undoubtedly many more peaks for Joshua Redman to climb.

Selected discography

Joshua Redman, Warner Bros., 1993.
Wish, Warner Bros., 1993.

Contributor to Dewey Redman, Choices, enja, 1992; John Hicks, Friends Old and New, RCA, 1992; Bob Thiele Collective, Louis Satchmo, Red Baron, 1992; Danny Gatton and Bobby Watson, New York Stories, Blue Note, 1992; Elvin Jones, Youngblood, enja, 1992; Kenny Drew, Jr., A Look Inside, Antilles, 1993; Eric Felten and Jimmy Knepper, T-Bop, Soul Note, 1993.