Joshua Redman's Back East is number one on New York Times music critic Ben Ratliff's list of the best CDs of 2007. Summing up the record, Ratliff writes: "Here Mr. Redman compresses his goals, leaves distractions behind and makes the most agile and personal record of his career." Back East makes fellow Times critic Nate Chinen's best-of list as well. Redman, Chinen writes, "has never sounded more at ease than he does here," and the performance by Joshua's father, late saxophonist Dewey Redman, in his last studio recording, "raises stakes as well as hairs."

It was a powerhouse line-up when SFJAZZ gathered Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, and Brian Blade at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre with a tribute to Thelonius Monk on May 4 of this year, so it's no surprise that the Contra Costa Times says it was one of the best jazz concerts of the year. 

The Los Angeles Times has revealed its pop music critics' lists of their favorites for the year. On staff writer Dan Heckman's list for the best in jazz is Joshua Redman's Back East and for the best in world music, Youssou N'Dour's Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take). Heckman calls Redman "one of the rare under-40 musicians who are making waves" and says the new album showcases "his ability to star in the difficult saxophone-bass-drums instrumental format." And with Youssou's new record, "The irresistible appeal of N'Dour's emotion-laden voice and irresistibly body-moving music has reached well beyond the arena of African music"

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has just announced the nominees for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, including Nonesuch releases from Wilco, Ry Cooder, Joshua Redman, Stephen Sondheim, and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. Judith Sherman is up for Classical Producer of the Year, including for Kronos Quartet's recording of Górecki's String Quartet No. 3.

The London Jazz Festival has come to a close, but not before Joshua Redman brought his virtuoso sax playing to Queen Elizabeth Hall. He and his trio—bassist Reuben Rogers, drummer Greg Hutchinson—performed a set that included songs from his latest album, Back East. "Possessing an endless fund of ideas, effortless fluency, muscular tone and an immaculate technique," says the Observer, "he must be the most perfect tenor saxophonist alive today, and on Thursday he demonstrated flawlessly sculpted phrases and total control of the instrument, to the very extremities of its range." The Financial Times says it was "a masterclass in controlled collective improvisation."