Joshua Redman & The Bad  Plus: The Bad Plus Joshua Redman

They’ve been touring around together for over a year, so it was inevitable that Joshua Redman would eventually collaborate with the trio of Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson and David King. A couple of the songs, “Silence is the Question” and “Dirty Blonde” are part of TBP repertoire and Redman’s horn glows warm on the latter ballad and rides along King’s ride cymbal on the mid tempo-ed former. As with most TBP tunes, there is a plethora of construction and plaintive repetitions, shown on the gently melodic “As This Moment Slips Away” and the delicate and quiet “Friend or Foe.” There’s a nice swing and variations of a theme which Redman handles well on “Lack the Faith But Not The Wine” while Redman swirls like a tornado on “Faith Through Error.” It’s interesting that it’s the saxist that adapts to the trio’s world view and not vice versa here, so Redman sounds and feels like he’s stretching more than the band. Plus fans will love it; Redman fans will appreciate him.

Nonesuch Records

www.nonesuch.com

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