Joshua Redman was born February 1, 1969, in Berkeley, California. By the time of Joshua’s birth, his father, noted saxophonist Dewey Redman, had moved to New York and was playing with Ornette Coleman. Young Joshua’s only contact with his father was hearing his records around the house, and during his infrequent visits to town with Ornette, Keith Jarrett, Old & New Dreams and others. His mother Renee Shedroff, a dancer and librarian, was the driving force that nurtured his creativity. Redman’s formal music training began at age five, when his mother enrolled him in Indonesian and Indian music classes at the Center For World Music. These unique art forms, along with the recordings of Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon and Dewey Redman were his early influences. Joshua soon learned to play the recorder, guitar and piano. He listened to popular music, with James Brown, Earth Wind & Fire, the Commodores, Parliament-Funkadelic, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles topping the Shedroff household playlist.
At ten, Joshua settled on the tenor saxophone; he had been exposed to it since birth and felt naturally drawn to the sound. He started with the clarinet and moved on to tenor the following year. The Berkeley Public Schools had an exceptional jazz program, directed by Phil Hardymon. (Gradutaes have included Benny Green, Craig Handy, Peter Apfelbaum, and Rodney Franklin, among others). Although he quickly became an accomplished saxophonist, Joshua was often more interested in popular music than jazz. Experimenting with the guitar and keyboards, he would seldom practice the saxophone. The Berkeley High School jazz band, directed by Charles Hamilton, won several competitions, with Joshua usually named the best soloist. His high school jazz quartet started working professionally. Though he still didn’t practice, he was listening more and more, rediscovering the music of Sonny, Dexter and Trane and also absorbing styles of Charlie Parker, Joe Henderson, Stanley Turrentine, Ben Webster, Wayne Shorter, Ornette Coleman and others. Always a serious student, Joshua’s academic studies took precedence over music. With straight A’s throughout high school, he graduated in 1986, No. 1 in his class. He wanted to become a doctor and was accepted early admission to Harvard. Boston suited him well; he could be in a city with a strong music scene and still concentrate on his studies. After taking a year off to cool out, Joshua entered Harvard in the Fall of ‘87 as a pre-med honors student majoring in Social Sciences.
While at Harvard, Joshua played in the school jazz band, but that was about it for music - it wasn’t practical of shift between an intense study mode and a creative playing mode. His limited playing experiences included a few gigs with Delfeayo Marsalis his senior year; after weeks without practice, Joshua would get on a plane, and show up to the gig.
However, during his summer breaks in Boston, Joshua spent most of his time hanging out with musicians at the Berklee College Of Music and participating in jam sessions. He also debuted with his father at the Village Vanguard in the summer of 1990. His intense listening continued, with his influences expanding to other instruments; McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Wynton Kelly, Elvin Jones, Ray Brown, Freddie Hubbard, etc. Redman graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1991, and was accepted to Yale law school. He was now on his way to a career in civil rights law or social work, but before jumping in, he took another year to cool out. He wanted to check out the music scene in New York - not as a career move, but to have a chance to concentrate on being creative again. In June of ‘91, he moved to Brooklyn, in a house with four other musicians. For the first time in his life, he was practicing regularly, playing jam sessions every day, and taking advantage of the New York Jazz scene. He was also playing regularly with Dewey.
Joshua began to approach writing only recently; Sublimation was his first composition, written in the Summer of ‘91. Before that, he never had time, feeling that he didn’t want to commit to paper until he was able to create a composition that reflected his own identity. As this recording vividly attests, he has accomplished his goal. Finally, in late November of ‘91, Joshua performed at the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. Joshua won the contest, and has since performed and/or recorded with Elvin Jones, Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny, Roy Hargrove, the Mingus Dynasty and Big Band, Red Rodney and Paul Motian among many others. He was also voted Best New Artist in 1992 Jazz Times Reader’s Poll. by Matt Pierson December 1992 Europe Jazz Network
Joshua Redman "There's only a handful of naturally gifted musicians, and Joshua's one of them. Every time you hear him he's at a higher level."
--New York Times
"Redman filled a role I didn't know I was lacking, the absence of which now seems unimaginable."
--The Village Voice
"Not since Wynton Marsalis' arrival on the jazz scene in the early 1980s has there been a new artist who has demonstrated parallel promise for artistic achievement and international renown."
--Downbeat
"One thing I've discovered about myself," says 28-year-old sax phenomenon Joshua Redman, "is that I'm an eclectic--as a person and as a musician. I know that I will never be comfortable being perceived as a specialist of one type of music, or as a representative of only one style. There doesn't have to be a contradiction between being eclectic and being focused."
Redman knows about focus. After graduating as valedictorian of his Berkeley, California high school in 1986, Redman attended Harvard, where he not only received his B.A. in Social Sciences, but graduated Summa Cum Laude, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and was accepted to Yale Law School. And then something happened that changed the course of his life. Redman won First Prize in the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz saxophone competition. He declined his matriculation to Yale Law School and has since become "The most important new musician in 20 years," according to legendary jazz guitarist Pat Metheny.
Since taking on the music world, Redman has released five critically acclaimed albums, and has performed or recorded with some of the world's greatest musicians, including Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, Charlie Haden, Lionel Hampton, Quincy Jones, B.B. King, Christian McBride, Pat Metheny, and Jack DeJohnette. "It's still important to take sideman opportunities when they come my way," Redman says. "My number one priority has always been to play with great musicians, especially great older musicians who can teach me about music and life."
Redman also appeared as a featured musician in Robert Altman's jazz film Kansas City. He has won numerous Down Beat, Jazziz, and Rolling Stone magazines' Readers Polls, and was nominated for a Grammy in 1994.
"Sometimes musicians, especially younger musicians, can get overwhelmed by definitions," Redman confides. "Especially with jazz, the technical and philosophical demands are so great that you can forget that the music is supposed to be your expression. If your priorities get mixed up, you spend too much attention on the ideal of what jazz should be."
Joshua Redman Latest Release: Freedom in the Groove (Warner Bros.) Previous Releases:
Spirit of the Moment (Warner Bros.) MoodSwing (Warner Bros.) Wish (Warner Bros.) Joshua Redman (Warner Bros.) Reeds - Joshua Redman uses: Vandoren® #3 V16 Tenor Sax Reeds Vandoren® #3 Java Alto Reeds Vandoren® #3 Traditional Soprano Reeds
Source: http://afgen.com/redman.html
