JOSHUA REDMAN - Wish (1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Joshua Redman's sophomore effort found him leading a piano-less quartet that also included guitar great Pat Metheny and half of Ornette Coleman's trailblazing late-'50s/early-'60s quartet: acoustic bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins. With such company, Redman could have delivered a strong avant-garde or free jazz album; Haden and Higgins had played an important role in jazz's avant-garde because of their association with Coleman, and Metheny had himself joined forces with Coleman on their thrilling Song X session of 1985. But Wish isn't avant-garde; instead, it's a mostly inside post-bop date that emphasizes the lyrical and the introspective. The musicians swing hard and fast on Charlie Parker's "Moose the Mooche," but things become very reflective on pieces like Redman's "The Undeserving Many" and Metheny's "We Had a Sister." One of the nice things about Redman is his ability to provide jazz interpretations of rock and R&B songs. While neo-conservatives ignore them and many NAC artists simply provide boring, predictable, note-for-note covers, Redman isn't afraid to dig into them and show their jazz potential. In Redman's hands, Stevie Wonder's "Make Sure You're Sure" becomes a haunting jazz-noir statement, while Eric Clapton's ballad "Tears in Heaven" is changed from moving pop/rock to moving pop-jazz. The latter, in fact, could be called "smooth jazz with substance." Some of bop's neo-conservatives disliked the fact that Redman was playing with two of Coleman's former sidemen and a fusion icon like Metheny, but then, Redman never claimed to be a purist. Although Wish isn't innovative, it's an appealing CD from an improviser who is willing to enter a variety of musical situations. by Alex Henderson 

Tracklist: :

1. Turnaround 6:24

(Ornette Coleman)

2. Soul Dance 6:34

(Joshua Redman)

3. Make Sure You’re Sure 5:24

(Stevie Wonder)

4. The Deserving Many 5:39

(Joshua Redman)

5. We Had a Sister 5:46

(Pat Metheny)

6. Moose the Mooche 3:32

(Charlie Parker)

7. Tears in Heaven 3:21

(Eric Clapton)

8. Whittlin’ 5:21

(Pat Metheny)

9. Wish (live) 7:26

(Joshua Redman)

10. Blues for Pat (live) 12:08

(Charlie Haden)

Credits :

Joshua Redman – Sax 

Pat Metheny – Guitar 

Charlie Haden – Bass

Bill Higgins – Drums.

JOSHUA REDMAN - Joshua Redman (1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In the early to mid-'90s, no "Young Lion" was hyped to death by jazz critics more than Joshua Redman; to hear some critics tell it, he was as important a saxophonist as John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, or Sonny Rollins. The problem with such excessive hype is that it gives a young talent like Redman way too much to live up to at an early age; the tenor man was only 22 when this self-titled debut album was recorded, and he needed time to grow and develop. Nonetheless, Redman did show a lot of promise on this CD, which isn't in a class with Coltrane's A Love Supreme or Rollins' Saxophone Colossus (some critics really did have the audacity to make such claims) but showed Redman to be a swinging, expressive improviser who had impressive technique as well as versatility. Redman's playing is greatly influenced by funky, big-toned soul-jazz tenors like Eddie Harris, Gene Ammons, and Red Holloway, but his probing, searching qualities bring to mind Coltrane. Redman's gritty soul-jazz workout on James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)" demonstrates that he isn't a stuffy neo-conservative, while his enjoyable interpretations of "Body and Soul" and Thelonious Monk's "Trinkle Tinkle" illustrate his ability to play "in the tradition," as hard boppers are fond of saying. Dizzy Gillespie's "Salt Peanuts" is pure bop, and Redman (whose acoustic support on this album includes pianist Kevin Hays, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Gregory Hutchinson) gets into a Coltrane-influenced post-bop groove on his own "Sublimation." Joshua Redman isn't a masterpiece, but it let us know that he was certainly someone to keep an eye on. by Alex Henderson  

Tracklist:

1. Blues on Sunday 4:59

(Joshua Redman)

2.Wish 7:30

(Joshua Redman)

3.Trinkle Tinkle 7:02

(Thelonious Monk)

4.Echoes

5. I Got You (I Feel Good) 4:36

(James Brown)

6. Body & Soul 4:47

(Heyman-Green-Sour)

7. Tribalism 5:58

8. Groove X (By Any Means Necessary) 5:49

9.Salt Peanuts 3:14

(Dizzy Gillespie)

10. On the Sunny Side of the Street 5:31

(McHugh-Fields)

11. Sublimation 8:52

Credits:

Joshua Redman – Tenor saxophone

Kevin Hays – Piano

Christian McBride – Bass

Gregory Hutchinson – Drums

Mike LeDonne – Piano

Paul LaDuca – Bass

Kenny Washington – Drums

Clarence Penn – Drums

SADAO WATANABE - Birds of Passage [1987]

Altoist Sadao Watanabe is considered one of Japan's top jazzmen. Some of his recordings are quite commercial but this particular one finds him paying tribute to Charlie Parker with what was called "the great jazz trio:" pianist Hank Jones, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams. The seven selections (four Bird compositions and three standards often played by Parker) are all given strong treatment by the quartet. Watanabe's true love is bebop and his solos here are very much in that tradition yet displaying a personality of his own.  by Scott Yanow
Tracklist  
1 Round Trip 5:51
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – Vinnie Colaiuta
Guitar – Dan Huff
Keyboards, Arranged By – Russell Ferrante
Percussion – Alex Acuna
Saxophone – Sadao Watanabe
2 Pastral 6:05
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – Dan Huff
Keyboards, Arranged By – Russell Ferrante
Percussion – Alex Acuna
Saxophone – Sadao Watanabe
3 Salvador 5:03
Backing Vocals – Alexandria Brown, Carl Carwell, Lynn Davis, Maria Leporace
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – Carlos Vega
Guitar – Paul Jackson Jr.
Keyboards – Russell Ferrante
Percussion, Backing Vocals – Paulinho Da Costa
Saxophone, Backing Vocals – Sadao Watanabe
Synthesizer [Synclavier] – George Duke
4 Just A Touch 4:36
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – Carlos Vega
Flute – Hubert Laws
Guitar – Paul Jackson Jr.
Keyboards – Russell Ferrante
Percussion – Paulinho Da Costa
Saxophone – Sadao Watanabe
Synthesizer [Synclavier] – George Duke
5 Burung Burung "Birds" 5:39
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – Carlos Vega
Flugelhorn – Freddie Hubbard
Guitar – Paul Jackson Jr.
Keyboards – Russell Ferrante
Percussion – Paulinho Da Costa
Saxophone – Sadao Watanabe
Synthesizer [Synclavier] – George Duke
6 Birds Of Passage 5:24
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – Carlos Vega
Guitar – Paul Jackson Jr.
Keyboards – Russell Ferrante
Percussion – Paulinho Da Costa
Saxophone – Sadao Watanabe
7 Chaser 5:31
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – John Robinson 
Keyboards, Arranged By – Russell Ferrante
Percussion – Alex Acuna
Saxophone – Sadao Watanabe
8 Tanza Night 5:05
Backing Vocals – Daniel Acuna, Diana Acuna, Jimmy Haslip, Petsye Powell, Regina Acuna
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – John Robinson 
Keyboards, Arranged By – Russell Ferrante
Percussion, Backing Vocals – Alex Acuna
Saxophone, Backing Vocals – Sadao Watanabe

 SADAO WATANABE - Birds of Passage 

[1987] Elektra / CBR320 / scans

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