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| Artist: Joshua Redman Trio
Label: Nonesuch
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $9.89
You Save: $9.09 (48%)
New (44) Used (8) from $9.89
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 10992
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 104252
UPC: 075597999389
EAN: 0075597999389
ASIN: B000N4S95Q
Release Date: April 24, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Brand New Factory Sealed- We ship to APO/FPO's.
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| Customer Reviews:
Always Open Ears For Josh - Always Time For Dewey June 3, 2007
Nowhere is it written that expressing angst is in the sole dominion of the consternated pop/alt./rockers and their ilk. Joshua Redman makes that clear by bailing himself out of San Fran (temporarily), scooping up his little bambino, and coming "Back East" to bury his father. Josh has plenty of strong emotions to work out in front of us, and we should have no problem with that. This is healthy music-making. There's also the palpable sense that Redman was jonesing big-time to play again in a trio setting with Brian Blade, his musical alter-ego. Other drummers are on-board besides Blade, but it's not the first time, as some have suggested, that Brian and Josh have recorded in a trio. See Yaya3 for proof of that (with no bassist, but bass-end courtesy of B3-er Sam Yahel). This isn't even the first time that Josh has recorded with just the bare-bones sax-bass-drums thing going on (see isolated tracks on Joshua Redman, Wish, and Spirit Of The Moment: Live At The Village Vanguard). But an entire album of it? Yes, now we're talking "Back East" style. Before getting all caught up with this distinction, however, just watch those lines get blurred by some of these trios morphing into quartets with the addition of some very special guests.
It's impossible to write this review and not drop the name Sonny Rollins, since a full third of the tracks here are tunes that Newk explored within the very same trio constraints back in the late 50's, and you know that Josh loves his Newk. He doesn't try to sound like Rollins here - he just invokes Sonny's powerful visage. The name and the sound, both invoked and actually present, which "Back East" *is* suffused with is that of Joshua's late father, Dewey Redman. My first exposure to the music of Dewey Redman came in the mid 70's when he was part of Keith Jarrett's incendiary American combo that made recordings for Impulse!, but I have to confess that most of it went way over my head at the time. What really made me pay attention to Dewey was his significant contribution to Pat Metheny's ECM double-album 80/81, right there next to Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden (also a vet of that Jarrett unit), Metheny, and the late Michael Brecker. What a free-emotive ear-opening revelation Dewey was on those tunes! Next came my awareness of the outfit known as "Old And New Dreams" with Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, and Haden again, which really convinced me that it was Miles Davis who was "all messed up inside" and not Ornette Coleman. And in the midst of all this great music came a Dewey Redman album for the ages - 1983's "The Struggle Continues" on ECM. Search hard in used vinyl shops for it - or even harder for a CD copy.
So what does any of this have to do with Joshua Redman's new self-produced title on Nonesuch? The answer is: everything. Josh has some of the biggest ears on this planet - don't go thinking for a minute that any of this stuff from the late 70's and 80's was lost on him, even if he tells you that he had to "come back" for some of it (he grew up apart from his dad with his mother in the Bay Area). Once Josh made the commitment to music over law school, *all* the great tenors who came before him contributed something to his jurisprudence of jazz degree. And with this latest offering, Redman (the younger) continues to show off his very sponge-like abilities even further. If there were just a few more tracks like the Josh original "Indonesia" (which isn't exactly gamelan, but sure ain't no 12-bar blues either) or the Coltrane gem "India" (performed in 4tet with father Dewey), or the Shorter jewel "Indian Song" (4tet with Joe Lovano, tune lifted from Wayne's o.o.p. 1965 album "Etcetera") this review would be attached to a 5-star rating. But 4 stars is still pretty darned good, and "Back East" is worth extra spins just to reflect on the incredible musical legacy left to us by Dewey Redman, who not so incidentally gets the last dance all to himself (in a trio) for the set closer. Salaam, Dewey. Great album, Josh.
 Impressive! May 24, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I own every single Joshua Redman album and I think that Back East is the album I'm most impressed with. Simply put, Redman's improve prowess is off the charts. Redman has always been good, even great, but now I think he is on another planet planet.
Art of the Trio (version #1) May 12, 2007
16 out of 25 found this review helpful
In general, I tend to find the sax/bass/drums trio setup rather challenging. I find the music a bit dry and monochromatic without keyboards and/or guitar to lend some life and colour. I decided to give this and Kenny Garrett's 1995 CD Triology a try though, as I wanted to try roaming beyond my comfort zone. I'd heard good things about both albums and besides - it's Joshua Redman and Kenny Garrett, right?
Well, Joshua Redman produces this CD and it features the trio formation with different cast members on different songs. Of particular personal interest are the tunes "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)", a barnstormer that features Redman on tenor and some really exciting drumming by Ali Jackson; the ballad "Zarafah", with Redman on soprano, accompanied by Christian McBride on bass (with a very interesting solo) and Brian Blade on drums; "Wagon Wheels", another ballad with Redman on soprano but this time accompanied by Reuben Rogers on bass and Eric Harland on drums; "Mantra #5", a duet with both Redman and Chris Cheek on soprano, backed by Larry Grenadier on bass and Ali Jackson on drums; the jaunty "Indonesia" with Redman back on tenor and joined by Grenadier and Jackson; (I'm sure I can hear percussion on this number but it's not credited) and last but not least, the Coltrane tune, "India" - another duet but this time with Dewey Redman, and with both men on tenor.
There's also an appearance by Joe Lovano on the Wayne Shorter tune "Indian Song", which I found interesting but not much else. Shame really, as I'm a huge Lovano fan.
So on the whole with regard to this particular CD, the let's-try-something-different experiment hasn't really worked and I remain underwhelmed by the sax/bass/drums trio format. I reiterate that it's a very personal thing but I still find it rather bland, cold and unemotional. That said, I do recognise the artistry on show here. I've already grown to love Joshua Redman's sound anyway and I have a feeling that the album could grow on me in time. I hope it does.
As a measure of enjoyment, I'd say three and a half stars. Four at a push, but only as an added mark of respect.
Melodic and harmonic beauty . May 1, 2007
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
"Back East" is Joshua Redman's first recording in an acoustic-trio setting and his first all-acoustic outing since his 2001 Warner Bros disc, "Passage of Time".
Recorded in New York City, it features the Berkeley, California-based Redman with three different, all-star rhythms sections, and a few carefully chosen guest players, most notably his father Dewey, who, unfortunately, passed away shortly after this album was completed.
Redman mixes originals with standards, selected in part to pay tribute to the great sax players who've inspired him, including John Coltrane ("India"), Wayne Shorter ("Indian Song") and Stan Getz ("East of the Sun", a tune associated with Getz).
Most significantly, he reinterprets two songs from Sonny Rollins' 1957 classic acoustic-trio set, "Way Out West".
The three distinct rhythm sections Redman cut these tracks with are old friends and frequent collaborators of Redman's, as well as marquee names in contemporary jazz: bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Ali Jackson, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland. Joe Lavano, whom Redman calls "one of the greatest saxophonists to emerge in the post-Coltrane generation," guests on "Indian Song"; Chris Cheek, whom Redman considers his biggest contemporary influence, sits in on Redman's own "Mantra #5".
Dewey Redman plays tenor on a version of Coltrane's "India", then performs alone on alto for the album's eloquent coda, an original Dewey Redman number called "GJ", written as a gift for Josh's infant son - a track that turned out to be the final session of Dewey's life.
Joshua is bravely measuring himself against the tenor titan in that album's signature mode: the pianoless trio, jazz's version of the net-free high-wire act. To say that Redman doesn't soar like Rollins would belabor the obvious - but he doesn't pull an "Icarus", either.
Only occasionally does he lapse into scales and rote riffing. Otherwise, he digs right in, finding melodic and harmonic beauty - along with a good deal of excitment - in every bar.
A New Direction (old music, new music, same great Redman). April 30, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This album is very reminiscent of Timeless Tales (for Changing Times) released by Joshua Redman in 1998. The first two tracks are very tasteful and original interpretations of "Surry with the Fringe on Top" and "East of the Sun." The rest of the album is a mixture of lesser know standards as well as several original tunes by Redman. "Zarafah" is a very surreal experience, with Redman at his finest on soprano sax. The different duet tracks are interesting. To hear Redman interact with Joe Lovano and also Dewey Redman is a real treat. "Back East" is reminiscent of some Michael Brecker tunes, but in no way is a carbon copy of what Brecker was doing in the late 90's.
Hearing this whole album without piano is great. I feel like it really gives Redman the chance to stretch his legs out even more than he already has. It reminds me of the pianoless quartet that Sonny Rollins was working with in the late 50's (listen to A Night at the Village Vanguard and you'll see what I mean). This album is a departure from Redman's previous work with his Elastic band, but it is a very refreshing departure. The evolution of jazz continues...
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