Walking Shadows

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DescriptionExcerpt

Walking Shadows, Joshua Redman’s first recording to include an orchestral ensemble, was produced by his friend and frequent collaborator Brad Mehldau. The record's core ensemble is a quartet featuring Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, and Brian Blade. Walking Shadows includes original tunes from both Redman and Mehldau along with works by a wide range of composers, like John Mayer and Pino Palladino, Kern and Hammerstein, and Lennon and McCartney. Buffalo News calls it "an unmitigated triumph ... one of the jazz discs of the year." The New York Times says "there hasn’t been a more sublimely lyrical gesture in his 20-year recording career."

Description

Nonesuch Records releases saxophonist Joshua Redman’s Walking Shadows on May 7, 2013. The album, comprising 12 ballads, is Redman’s first recording to include an orchestral ensemble, which plays on many of the tracks. It was produced by Redman’s friend and frequent collaborator Brad Mehldau. The record’s core ensemble is a quartet featuring Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, and Brian Blade—all frequent collaborators of Redman’s over the years. Dan Coleman conducts on the orchestral tracks. Walking Shadows includes original tunes from both Redman and Mehldau along with works by a wide range of composers such as John Mayer and Pino Palladino; Kern and Hammerstein; and Lennon and McCartney. Orchestral arrangements are by Mehldau, Coleman, and composer Patrick Zimmerli. 

Redman first worked with Mehldau and Blade in Redman’s mid-1990s quartet and they have been friends and frequent collaborators ever since. Redman was a featured soloist on Mehldau’s Jon Brion–produced 2010 orchestral album, Highway Rider. Walking Shadows is the first of Redman’s records to be produced by Mehldau. Redman says: “I couldn’t be more delighted to have the opportunity to do a ballads record with strings, with Brad producing, and my other great friends and collaborators all involved. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”

The New York Times said of the saxophonist, “Joshua Redman is one of the most visible jazz musicians of the last 15 years, which says something not just about his natural flow as an improviser and his command as a bandleader, but also about his willingness to use words ... to represent jazz to the outside world.”

Redman’s first self-titled studio album was released by Warner Bros. in 1993; eight additional records followed on Warner. His Nonesuch debut, Momentum, was released in 2005, along with the first of two SF JAZZ Collective albums on which he served as artistic director. In 2007, Nonesuch released Back East, Redman’s first studio recording with an acoustic trio, followed by Compass in 2009 featuring double trio. His most recent album, 2011’s James Farm, featured a band of the same name with pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman, and drummer Eric Harland.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Brad Mehldau
Co-Produced by Joshua Redman
Recorded September 27–29, 2012, at Avatar Studios, New York, NY
Engineered & Mixed by James Farber
Edited by Brian Montgomery
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York, NY
Contractor: Jill Dell’Abate

Tracks 1, 12 arranged by Dan Coleman and Joshua Redman, orchestrated by Dan Coleman; track 7 arranged and orchestrated by Dan Coleman; track 2 arranged and orchestrated by Patrick Zimmerli; tracks 5, 10 arranged and orchestrated by Brad Mehldau. All other songs arranged by Joshua Redman, except for track 3 arranged by Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau.

Design by Jeri Heiden/SMOG Design
Cover photo by Claire Dorn

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

532288

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
Album Status
Artist Name
Joshua Redman
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Joshua Redman, saxophone
Brad Mehldau, piano
Larry Grenadier, bass
Brian Blade, drums

Laura Frautschi (Concertmistress), Avril Brown, Christina Courtin, Karen Karlsrud, Ann Leathers, Katherine Livolsi-Landau, Joanna Maurer, Courtney Orlando, Yuri Vodovos, violin
Vincent Lionti, Daniel Panner, Dov Scheindlin, viola
Stephanie Cummins, Eugene Moye, Ellen Westermann, cello
Timothy Cobb, bass
Pamela Sklar, flute
Robert Carlisle, French horn
Conducted by Dan Coleman

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597960938BUN
Label
MP3
Price
10.00
UPC
075597960914
Label
88/24 HD FLAC
Price
11.00
UPC
075597944785
  • 532288

News & Reviews

  • The nominations for the Edison Klassiek and Jazz Awards in the Netherlands have been announced, including four Nonesuch recordings: Julia Bullock’s Walking in the Dark for Solo Vocal in the Klassiek awards; Mary Halvorson’s Belladonna and Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, and Brian Blade’s LongGone for Jazz International Instrumental; and Cécile McLorin Salvant’s Mélusine for Jazz International Vocal—the award she won last year for her Nonesuch debut album, Ghost Song.

  • Congratulations to the Jazz Journalists Association's 2023 JJA Jazz Awards nominees, including Mary Halvorson for Jazz Musician of the Year, Composer of the Year, and Guitarist of the Year, as well as Album Art of the Year for Amaryllis and Belladonna; Cécile McLorin Salvant for Female Vocalist of the Year and Record of the Year for Ghost Song; Brad Mehldau for Pianist of the Year; and the LongGone quartet of Joshua Redman, Mehldau, Christian McBride, and Brian Blade for Midsize Ensemble of the Year. Winners will be announced on May 17.

  • About This Album

    Nonesuch Records releases saxophonist Joshua Redman’s Walking Shadows on May 7, 2013. The album, comprising 12 ballads, is Redman’s first recording to include an orchestral ensemble, which plays on many of the tracks. It was produced by Redman’s friend and frequent collaborator Brad Mehldau. The record’s core ensemble is a quartet featuring Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, and Brian Blade—all frequent collaborators of Redman’s over the years. Dan Coleman conducts on the orchestral tracks. Walking Shadows includes original tunes from both Redman and Mehldau along with works by a wide range of composers such as John Mayer and Pino Palladino; Kern and Hammerstein; and Lennon and McCartney. Orchestral arrangements are by Mehldau, Coleman, and composer Patrick Zimmerli. 

    Redman first worked with Mehldau and Blade in Redman’s mid-1990s quartet and they have been friends and frequent collaborators ever since. Redman was a featured soloist on Mehldau’s Jon Brion–produced 2010 orchestral album, Highway Rider. Walking Shadows is the first of Redman’s records to be produced by Mehldau. Redman says: “I couldn’t be more delighted to have the opportunity to do a ballads record with strings, with Brad producing, and my other great friends and collaborators all involved. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”

    The New York Times said of the saxophonist, “Joshua Redman is one of the most visible jazz musicians of the last 15 years, which says something not just about his natural flow as an improviser and his command as a bandleader, but also about his willingness to use words ... to represent jazz to the outside world.”

    Redman’s first self-titled studio album was released by Warner Bros. in 1993; eight additional records followed on Warner. His Nonesuch debut, Momentum, was released in 2005, along with the first of two SF JAZZ Collective albums on which he served as artistic director. In 2007, Nonesuch released Back East, Redman’s first studio recording with an acoustic trio, followed by Compass in 2009 featuring double trio. His most recent album, 2011’s James Farm, featured a band of the same name with pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman, and drummer Eric Harland.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Joshua Redman, saxophone
    Brad Mehldau, piano
    Larry Grenadier, bass
    Brian Blade, drums

    Laura Frautschi (Concertmistress), Avril Brown, Christina Courtin, Karen Karlsrud, Ann Leathers, Katherine Livolsi-Landau, Joanna Maurer, Courtney Orlando, Yuri Vodovos, violin
    Vincent Lionti, Daniel Panner, Dov Scheindlin, viola
    Stephanie Cummins, Eugene Moye, Ellen Westermann, cello
    Timothy Cobb, bass
    Pamela Sklar, flute
    Robert Carlisle, French horn
    Conducted by Dan Coleman

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Brad Mehldau
    Co-Produced by Joshua Redman
    Recorded September 27–29, 2012, at Avatar Studios, New York, NY
    Engineered & Mixed by James Farber
    Edited by Brian Montgomery
    Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York, NY
    Contractor: Jill Dell’Abate

    Tracks 1, 12 arranged by Dan Coleman and Joshua Redman, orchestrated by Dan Coleman; track 7 arranged and orchestrated by Dan Coleman; track 2 arranged and orchestrated by Patrick Zimmerli; tracks 5, 10 arranged and orchestrated by Brad Mehldau. All other songs arranged by Joshua Redman, except for track 3 arranged by Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau.

    Design by Jeri Heiden/SMOG Design
    Cover photo by Claire Dorn

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz