Joshua Redman Biography

Joshua Redman is one of the most renowned and charming jazz artists to rise during the 1990s decade. He is the son of iconic saxophonist Dewey Redman and dancer Renee Shedroff and was born in Berkeley, California. He was exposed to a range of music (jazz, rock, classical, soul, Indonesian, India, African, Middle-Eastern) as well as instruments (recorder, guitar, gatham, piano, gamelan) at a young age, and started playing clarinet at the age of 9 before swapping to what would become his main instrument, the tenor saxophone, 1 year later. Joshua's early influences included Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, and his dad, Dewey Redman, and also the Beatles, the Temptations, Earth, Wind and Fire, Prince, Aretha Franklin, The Police, as well as Led Zeppelin. However, while Joshua liked playing the saxophone and was a devoted participant of the award-winning Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble and Combo from 1983 to 1986, academics have always been his top priority, and he never strongly contemplated becoming a professional player. Redman received his B.A. in Social Studies from Harvard College in 1991, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. He was already approved to Yale Law School but postponed entry for what he thought would be only a year Some of his pals (former Berklee College of Music students whom Joshua must have met in Boston) had moved recently to Brooklyn and were searching for another roommate to assist with the rent. Redman acknowledged their request to relocate in and observed himself submerged in the New York jazz scene almost urgently. He started regularly jamming and gigging with some of his generation's most influential jazz musicians, along with Peter Bernstein, Kevin Hays, Larry Goldings, Roy Hargrove, Leon Parker, Geoff Keezer, Mark Turner, and Jorge Rossy (to name just a few). Redman won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition in November of that year, just 5 months after shifting to New York. This was just one of the more noticeable standouts of a year in which Redman began to explore and document with jazz greats like his dad, Jack DeJohnette, Elvin Jones, Charlie Haden, Joe Lovano, Paul Motian, Pat Metheny, as well as Clark Terry. This was a time of great growth, extremely valuable experience, and never-ending inspiration for Joshua. Redman, now totally committed to a career in music, was rapidly signed by Warner Bros. Records and released his debut self-titled mixtape in the spring of 1993 Redman's first Grammy nomination came as a result of this song. Wish was released that fall, with Joshua joining an all-star cast that included Pat Metheny, Billy Higgins, and Charlie Haden. During the latter half of the same year, he toured extensively with Metheny. MoodSwing, his next album, was published in 1994, and it featured his 1st permanent group, that included 3 other young artists who have gone on to become some of the most important and influential artists in modern jazz: pianist Brad Mehldau, drummer Brian Blade, and bassist Christian McBride. This ensemble later included pianist Peter Martin, bassist Chris Thomas, and guitarist. Redman established himself as one of the music's most constant and popular bandleaders over a series of celebrated recordings, along with Spirit of the Moment/Live at the Village Vanguard, Freedom in the Groove, and Timeless Stories (for Changing Times), as well as added soprano and alto saxophones to his orchestral arsenal. Joshua's second widely praised quartet, which included pianist Aaron Goldberg, bassist Reuben Rogers, & drummer Gregory Hutchinson, was founded in 1999 and made its documented comeback on the playlist Beyond in 2000. The group's dynamic interplay and unusual rapport motivated Redman to write and produce his first long-form structure, Passage of Time, which was published in 2001. A year later, Redman started to channel his jazz sensibilities via new instrumentation, forming The Elastic Band, a versatile, electrified, groove-based trio constructed on a continuing cooperation with keyboardist Sam Yahel and drummer Brian Blade. The band made their debut with the 2002 releases yaya3 & Elastic. Later that year, drummer Jeff Ballard began to play consistently with the Elastic Band, and he (along with Blade and Yahel) played an important role in their next album, the Grammy-nominated Momentum. which was published in 2005 to mark the beginning of Redman's association with Nonesuch Records, and featured a diverse and exciting lineup of special guests. Redman was given the name Artistic Director of the non-profit jazz-presenting organisation SFJAZZ's Spring Season in 2000. The invention of the SFJAZZ Collective, an ensemble differentiated both by the creativity of its members and a unique primary emphasis on composition, was a "eureka moment" for Redman and SFJAZZ Executive Director Randall Kline, according to The New York Times. The eight-piece band, which debuted in 2004, features a multi-generational cast of achieved musicians. The Collective's repertoire includes commissioned works as well as new deals of great modern jazz composers' work. Redman announced in March 2007 that he would be leaving both the SFJAZZ Artistic Directorship as well as the SFJAZZ Collective to come up with innovative projects. Back East, Redman's first piano-less trio album, was published the following month by Nonesuch, and showcased Joshua alongside three stellar bass & drum rhythm segments (Larry Grenadier & Ali Jackson, Christian McBride & Brian Blade, Reuben Rogers & Eric Harland) and 3 very special guest saxophonists (Dewey Redman, Chris Cheek, and Dewey Redman). Compass, which was published in Jan 2009 (Nonesuch) Joshua Redman continues to experiment with the expansive trio format, and with a group of collaborators as daring as he is – bassists Larry Grenadier and Rueben Rogers, as well as drummers Brian Blade and Gregory Hutchinson – he metaphorically and literally extends the shape of the trio strategy; on the most courageous of these tunes, he accomplishes with the whole lineup in a double-trio setting. In addition to his own initiatives, Redman has worked with musicians such as Brian Blade, Dave Brubeck, Ray Brown, Chick Corea, Jack Dejohnette, The Dave Matthews Band, Bill Frisell, Larry Goldings, Aaron Goldberg, Charlie Haden, Roy Hargrove, Herbie Hancock, Billie Higgins, Roy Haynes, Milt Jackson, Quincy Jones, Elvin Jones, Big Daddy kane, B.B. King, Geoff Keezer, The Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra, Joe Lovano, DJ Logic, Yo Yo Ma, Christian McBride, Branford Marsalis, John Medeski, Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau, Marcus Miller, MeShell Ndegecello, Paul Motion, Leon Parker, John Psathas, Nicholas Payton, Dewey Redman, Simon Rattle, Melvin Rhyne, Dianne Reeves, The Roots, The Rolling Stone, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Soulive, John Scofield, String Cheese Incident, Soulive, Clark Terry, The Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, McCoy Tyner, Mark Turner, US3, Umphrey's McGee, Cedar walton, Bugge wesseltoft, Stevie Wonder, Cedar Walton, and Sam yahel Joshua Redman has been honoured 2 Grammys and has received top ratings from DownBeat, The Village Voice, Jazz Times, and Rolling Stone critics as well as readers polls. He composed and executed the music for Louis Malle's final film Vanya on 42nd Street, and he can be spotted and listened in Robert Altman's Kansas City.

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