Joshua Redman ‎– Back East / An album of acoustic trios, featuring Larry Grenadier & Ali Jackson, Reuben Rogers & Eric Harland and Christian McBride & Brian Blade with special guests Chris Cheek, Joe Lovano / Nonesuch ‎Audio CD / 7559-79993-8

UPC 075597999389

Joshua Redman mixes originals with standards in tribute of the great sax players before him, on his new album Back East. But Redman doesn't just pay homage with these tunes, he makes them his own, adding a different sort of "eastern" feel to both the covers and his original compositions. With many special guest performers, including his own father, Redman has created a eloquent gift for the music world.

Sonny Rollins's 1957 release Way Out West established the pianoless bass-sax-drum configuration. The Berkeley-raised tenor/soprano saxophonist Joshua Redman's geographically reversed tribute was recorded in New York, where his career began. It features three sets of trios, with drummers Brian Blade, Eric Harland, and Ali Jackson and bassists Rueben Rogers, Christian McBride, and Larry Grenadier. Redman's sure-headed, serpentine, and sensual saxlines upgrade the two WOW tracks "I'm an Old Cowhand" and "Wagon Wheels" with Afro-Asian rhythmic motifs. Joe Lovano, Chris Cheek, and the leader's late father Dewey Redman lend their sax sounds to selections by Redman's horn influences: "Indian Song" by Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane's "India," and the Stan Getz-associated ballad "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)." Redman's compositions--"Mantra #5," the tantric-tempoed "Indonesia," the title track, and "GJ," a touching dedication from Joshua Redman's dad to his grandson--complete the thrilling project from this future saxophone colossus. --Eugene Holley, Jr.