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Review: Joshua Redman
turns Grace Cathedral
into his living room
By Richard [email protected]
Posted: 02/27/2010 07:05:09 PM PST
Updated: 02/27/2010 09:10:09 PM PST
SAN FRANCISCO Saxophonist Joshua Redmanbegan his solo concert at
Grace Cathedral on Fridayby playing long, velvety tones at the back
of thegreat Gothic church. As the notes echoed throughthe vaulted
spaces, they sounded like the lonesomesong of a humpback whale.
Then, slowly, asRedman walked up the center aisle toward the
altar,
his tenor saxophone song settled somewherebetween a Gregorian
chant and a Coltrane spiritual.
A moment later, it revealed itself as Duke Ellington's"In a
Sentimental Mood" played, it seemed, by twosaxophonists. I've never
heard anything like it:Redman was using the church's
seven-secondreverberation as a second instrument, working withthe
echoes and overtones to create the illusion of aduet. He was a
billowing, harmonizing, one-manspirit band in the darkened church,
where Ellingtongave a famous concert of sacred music in 1965.
Redman, no doubt, was aware of the tradition he
had stepped into with this concert, part of theSFJAZZ Spring
Season. The SFJAZZ organization haspresented many important
saxophonists in solorecital at Grace since 1986: Anthony
Braxton,Charles Lloyd, Joe Henderson, Steve Lacy, JackieMcLean,
Pharoah Sanders (who returns April 16) andothers including Redman,
10 years ago, when he
was 31 and challenged by the acoustics, which canturn music into
a muddle.
"It was a great experience," he joked with theaudience Friday,
"but I swore I'd never do it again."
Good thing he changed his mind; people will betalking about
Friday's sold-out concert for years tocome.
Rich intimacy
Redman spent much of the time walking around thecathedral while
playing, encircling the audiencewith music, giving a rich intimacy
to the event,despite Grace's vast spaces. The concert was at once
dramatic, almost theatrical, but also personal andgood
entertainment. Redman, with his between-songs banter, didn't let
things get overly serious.
"I almost got lost back there," he joked, aftercircumnavigating
the cathedral during one of thenight's dozen or so tunes.
Switching to soprano for Wayne Shorter's"Footprints," Redman
used circular breathing tosustain his phrases and wound up sounding
like abuzzing swarm. Again walking the aisles, he sent
upreverberating cascades of arpeggios and otherpatterns, constantly
modulating, then slowed itdown, the sound growing spacious and
floating likeclouds.
Interestingly, these effects were similar to onesRedman summoned
a few years ago with his electro-acoustic trio by using looping and
computer-generated triggers. Hearing him Friday at Grace, youhad to
wonder: Is the music in the technology? Inthe acoustics of the
venue? Or, in the end, is themusic simply in the player? With
Redman, the
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answer is the latter.
With a musician as smart and curious as Redman,you expect to be
surprised. Still when he switchedto alto saxophone and merged
Horace Silver's "
Sister Sadie" and Ornette Coleman's "BroadwayBlues" into a
single song, that was really a surprise.
Trading melody
Back on tenor, Redman had the audience sing somebillowy
drone-tones, which served asaccompaniment to his prayerful playing
of JohnColtrane's "Naima." And for Coleman's "Law Years,"he brought
on a surprise guest: the great trumpeterDave Douglas, who
materialized at the back of thecathedral.
He and Redman traded melody and embellishments
back and forth across the church, eventuallymeeting in the
center aisle for a free-jazz blowout.
Later, as an encore, Redman played one of his owntunes,
"Zarafah," written for his mother, who was inthe audience. "The
pressure is on," he said, smiling.
The song is bluesy and chantlike, with an Easternvibe. The
performance conveyed fortitude,intelligence and love, and, when he
finished,Redman said to his contented audience, "See you in10
years."
Contact Richard Scheinin at 408-920-5069.
SFJAZZ Spring Season through June 12
Including Pharoah Sanders" solo concert at Grace
Cathedral
When: 8 p.m. April 16Where: 1100 California St., San
FranciscoTickets: $25-$50;www.sfjazz.org or866-920-JAZZ
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