Joshua Redman set to 'groove' Saturday

Break out some Q-tips, and give those ears a good cleaning. Joshua Redman, one of the premier jazz saxophonists today, will perform at Finney Chapel this Saturday at 8 p.m. Joining him will be two other young jazz stars - Christian McBride, bassist, and Brian Blade, drummer.

Joshua is the son of the great jazz tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman. In 1991, Joshua graduated summa cum laude  from Harvard, and could have gone to Yale Law School. Instead, he chose to pursue a career in music, and has since been on a blistering schedule of recording and performing, showing no signs of tiring. He has recorded numerous albums as a sideman, and five as a leader.

Redman's sidemen, Christian McBride and Brian Blade, are undoubtedly two of the finest players on their instruments today. Time  magazine said McBride is "the most promising and versatile new bassist since Charles Mingus." Listening to McBride play with others, one can clearly hear a joy and sharing of music making in McBride's playing, not to mention his tremendous technical facility. Modern Drummer  said Blade "handles straight ahead,R&B, Dixieland, and pop with equal ease and an individual voice." Blade's playing grooves with a rare intensity, and a light touch that leaves bountiful space for other band members to contribute.

Recently, Redman finished a tour with the Chick Corea group that commemorated Bud Powell, the legendary jazz pianist and composer. Being in many different musical situations, such as the Corea band, and absorbing all types of music since he was a child has made Redman an eclectic person and musician.

Freedom In The Groove,  Redman's top selling latest album, is a manifestation of his eclecticness. It is a superior amalgamation of various musics, most noticeably jazz, blues, and funk. Redman shows much compositional maturation since one of his first albums, Wish, employing mostly fairly simple manipulations and innovations in new ways to stretch the boundaries of modern music much further.

Freedom In The Groove  includes a guitarist and pianist, in addition to the bass, drums, and saxophone. However, on Saturday night, there will be no piano or guitar - a definite challenge to any jazz group. Perhaps some Freedom  material will be played, but there will surely be much more solo and group improvisation than on the tightly arranged latest album.

Whatever and however these young phenomenons choose to play, their performance at Finney will certainly groove and inspire all those wise enough to attend.

The Joshua Redman Trio plays Finney Chapel Saturday, Sept. 20 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 and $4.