Joshua Redman

Submitted by nonesuch on
Sort Name
Redman
Artist Position
280.00
Artist Genre
Biography (Excerpt)

The members of the original Joshua Redman Quartet—Redman (saxophone), Brad Mehldau (piano), Christian McBride (bass), and Brian Blade (drums)—reunite with RoundAgain, the group’s first recording since 1994’s MoodSwing. The album features seven newly composed songs: three from Redman, two from Mehldau, and one each from McBride and Blade.

Weight
10
Active Artist
No
Facebook URL
https://www.facebook.com/JoshuaRedmanMusic
Twitter URL
https://twitter.com/joshua_redman
Instagram URL
https://instagram.com/joshuaredmanmusic/

The members of the original Joshua Redman Quartet—Redman (saxophone), Brad Mehldau (piano), Christian McBride (bass), and Brian Blade (drums)—reunite with the July 10, 2020 release of RoundAgain, the group’s first recording since 1994’s MoodSwing. The album features seven newly composed songs: three from Redman, two from Mehldau, and one each from McBride and Blade. A live version of Redman’s “Right Back Round Again” may be seen below, in a video directed by Matthew Beighley; the album version is available to download with the album pre-order.

Redman says of his first group as a bandleader, which was together for approximately a year and a half: “I realized almost immediately that this band wouldn’t stay together for very long. They were without a doubt, for our generation, among the most accomplished and innovative on their respective instruments. They were already all in such high demand—everyone wanted to play with them! And they all had such strong and charismatic musical personalities—destined to start soon pursuing their own independent visions. I knew better than anyone else just how incredibly lucky I was to have even that short time with them.” 

In the intervening decades, each has played with one or more of the others on various occasions, but all four had never properly reunited. “I knew it would happen, but I didn’t know when,” Redman admits. “We were all so busy, and we needed the space, both in our schedules and in our creative development.”

“We would have done it ten years ago if it were up to me,” Mehldau insists. “Josh, Christian, and Brian are all my heroes. It’s like playing with The Avengers.” 

Blade adds, “This band is like a turntable where the stylus was lifted but the turntable is still spinning. We just had to drop the needle, and there we were with all of the information we had gathered. It has gotten deeper because of life itself, and because Joshua, Brad, and Christian plumb the depths every day.” 

“These guys have grown exponentially,” McBride insists. “They are super-monsters now, and playing with them gave me a hard look at myself. And when you’re intimate creating art, even if you don’t play together for twenty years, you only need two bars to realize what the feeling is about, because the feeling never leaves."

Artist Header Image
Artist Card Image
Artist Spotlight Image

Latest Release

  • September 9, 2022

    In 1994, the original Joshua Redman Quartet—Redman (saxophone), Brad Mehldau (piano), Christian McBride (bass), and Brian Blade (drums)—released MoodSwing, an instant classic that helped launch each member’s career as a leader. The members of the quartet reunited for the critically acclaimed album RoundAgain in 2020 and now for a new album, LongGone, featuring original Redman compositions from the RoundAgain recording sessions, plus a live performance of the MoodSwing track “Rejoice,” captured by SFJAZZ at the San Francisco Jazz Festival. Grammy Nominee for Best Instrumental Album.

Releases

News

  • July 6, 2023

    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.

  • May 2, 2023

    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.

Tour

Photos

About Joshua Redman

  • The members of the original Joshua Redman Quartet—Redman (saxophone), Brad Mehldau (piano), Christian McBride (bass), and Brian Blade (drums)—reunite with the July 10, 2020 release of RoundAgain, the group’s first recording since 1994’s MoodSwing. The album features seven newly composed songs: three from Redman, two from Mehldau, and one each from McBride and Blade. A live version of Redman’s “Right Back Round Again” may be seen below, in a video directed by Matthew Beighley; the album version is available to download with the album pre-order.

    Redman says of his first group as a bandleader, which was together for approximately a year and a half: “I realized almost immediately that this band wouldn’t stay together for very long. They were without a doubt, for our generation, among the most accomplished and innovative on their respective instruments. They were already all in such high demand—everyone wanted to play with them! And they all had such strong and charismatic musical personalities—destined to start soon pursuing their own independent visions. I knew better than anyone else just how incredibly lucky I was to have even that short time with them.” 

    In the intervening decades, each has played with one or more of the others on various occasions, but all four had never properly reunited. “I knew it would happen, but I didn’t know when,” Redman admits. “We were all so busy, and we needed the space, both in our schedules and in our creative development.”

    “We would have done it ten years ago if it were up to me,” Mehldau insists. “Josh, Christian, and Brian are all my heroes. It’s like playing with The Avengers.” 

    Blade adds, “This band is like a turntable where the stylus was lifted but the turntable is still spinning. We just had to drop the needle, and there we were with all of the information we had gathered. It has gotten deeper because of life itself, and because Joshua, Brad, and Christian plumb the depths every day.” 

    “These guys have grown exponentially,” McBride insists. “They are super-monsters now, and playing with them gave me a hard look at myself. And when you’re intimate creating art, even if you don’t play together for twenty years, you only need two bars to realize what the feeling is about, because the feeling never leaves."

Performs On