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MUSIC
142 TONE AUDIO NO.64
A
trio may be the most challenging format for a jazz
saxophonist. The player has no place to hide. He or
she can’t play off of another horn’s ideas, and there’s
no piano to provide a cushion of chords. In some
ways, it’s even more daring than performing solo
because the leader still must engage and inspire a
rhythm section.
Joshua Redman
Trios Live
Nonesuch, CD
Joshua Redman began
recording with this kind of group
about seven years ago. His 2007
Back East album features the
trio at its core (including bassist
Reuben Rogers, who returns
here on three tracks), but it also
includes a number of guest
players. Since then, he’s worked
with the collaborative James
Farm and orchestral Walking
Shadows. On the new Trios Live,
he goes back to the strippeddown
setting for this concert
recording of two different groups
performing at New York’s Jazz
Standard and Washington, D.C.’s
Blues Alley. Getting back to the
basics and taking on this dare
in front of discerning audiences
makes his playing sound stronger
than ever.
Redman has mentioned that
Sonny Rollins’ classic trio dates,
especially 1957’s Way Out West,
have been especially inspirational
when he began working within
the format. While those are large
shoes to fill, Redman, on tenor
and soprano, sounds more
than up to the job, especially
since he consistently displays a
personality of his own.
The way Redman, bassist
Matt Penman, and drummer
Gregory Hutchinson approach
Kurt Weill’s “Moritat (Mack The
Knife)” can be considered the
most ostensible connection to
Rollins. They extend the piece,
and Redman in particular fills
it with an array of squeals and
clever quotations. Hutchinson,
especially, helps guide all these
forays into a resolving logic; Redman’s
rich tone also emphasizes
this sense of clarity. A power take
on Thelonious Monk’s “Trinkle,
Tinkle” steamrolls through the
composer’s singular intervals—
a piano may have slowed them
down. The saxophonist’s voice
is equally convincing on such
quiet pieces as Jay Livingston’s
ballad “Never Let Me Go,” which
features Redman’s subtle vibrato
and subtly bold upper-register
harmonies.
Trios Live also serves as a reminder
of Redman’s considerable
skills as a composer. His “Mantra
#5” provides the ideal structure
for his soprano lyricism. “Act
Natural” sounds like a multipart
suite with Rogers’ pizzicato bass
solo leading back to Redman’s
embellishment of the theme with
growls that hang outside the bar
lines. Hutchinson also brings in
different, and surprising, melodic
tones here, as well as on “Soul
Dance.”
A rousing version of Led Zeppelin’s
“The Ocean” concludes
the outing. Redman, Penman,
and Hutchinson bring the funk
and unleash a few gimmicks—
like the saxophonist’s slap tonguing.
But, considering the source,
throwing every fun trick in the
service of Zeppelin is more than
all right. —Aaron Cohen
July 2014 143