Although I’ve seen him perform five times in the last eight years, I don’t track Joshua Redman’s every move. So I was stunned by what I heard when I cued up Still Dreaming, the saxophonist’s new album with trumpeter Ron Miles, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade.
The abrasive barrage of Ornette Coleman harmolodics was a wholly unexpected but entirely welcome surprise. Only after my initial 40-minute listening session concluded did I investigate the impetus for the album. It’s inspired by Old and New Dreams, the estimable project that included Redman’s father Dewey.
The interplay on Still Dreaming is slightly more reserved than the wild-eyed attack of Old and New Dreams. Even so, it’s remarkably prickly. Hearing Redman play this bracing material in his appearance in the 2018-19 season of the Folly Jazz Series promises to be thrilling.
----
I reviewed a concert by the Charles Williams Trio at Plastic Sax.
---
Roger Clark, the drummer on classic Muscle Shoals tracks by the likes of Clarence Carter and Bocephus, has died. (Tip via BGO.)
---
Big Scoob’s Duality couldn’t have been issued on a worse day. Released alongside Pusha T’s highly anticipated Daytona, the Kansas City rapper’s Duality suffers in comparison. Few men rap better than King Push, and no one creates more interesting beats than Kanye West.
---
The best thing that can be said of Stone Temple Pilots’ new self-titled album is that it doesn’t desecrate the memory of the late Scott Weiland. Sterile production limits the possibilities of the solid songs.
---
Yelena Eckemoff’s hot streak continues. Desert is astounding, partly because of the presence of the multi-instrumentalist Paul McCandless, bassist Arild Andersen and drummer Peter Erskine. RIYL: Oregon, underdogs, John Surman.
---
I’m all about the liberation theology espoused by Ry Cooder on The Prodigal Son. The many people who rail against Christianity on my social media feeds would be surprised to learn that the anti-capitalist, pro-reconciliation messages embedded in The Prodigal Son reflect the preaching I hear at my mainstream Protestant church on Sundays. RIYL: Warren Zevon, Jesus, Woody Guthrie.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
1 comment:
I was lucky enough to see Old and New Dreams in 1980 or so. It was a homecoming gig for Ed Blackwell, who had not played in New Orleans for many years, and he was amazing that night.
Post a Comment