Saxophonist
Joshua Redman is one of the most important advocates of neo bob. This professor of jazz studied law at the famed Harvard University, but eventually made the choice for his great love ,jazz. When he won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 1991, things started to move fast for Redman. He played on an album of his famous, sax-playing father, Dewey Redman, and released his debut CD in 1993. After that, he made another eleven albums with various line-ups, and even played on several celebrated pop albums. In 2007, his CD
Back East was released and with that title he referred to
Way Out West, the classic his role model Sonny Rollins produced in 1957. At the start of this year, he received wide acclaim for
Compass which is really a sequel to
Back East. These last couple of years Redman has mainly been expanding his work with his trio. The American's playing is basically known for the calm it exudes and the accessibility of his melodies. You never get the idea that Redman has to go to extremes to get the best result. Bass player Reuben Rogers and drummer Greg Hutchinson complete his trio during this festival.
