Sat 14 Jan 2023, 11:00 pm – The Art of the Improvisers. “Music is the most powerful force I know; it’s the only force that can make you cry, laugh, be happy, dance, fuck, fight.” According to the originally Texan reed player Dewey Redman (1931-2006). He emerges in the 1960s, and links up with free jazz. But…”I try to do a variety of styles, because one style bores me.” He plays bebop, ballads and blues when it suits him, and is not limited to tenor sax. His instruments also include the shehnai, an Asian double-reed instrument, and the zither.
This versatility is also reflected in a range of varied line-ups. On the album Coincide (1974) Redman plays a few pieces in a trio, with bassist Sirone (Norris Jones) and drummer Eddie Moore. Joie de Vivre is slow, somewhat lyrical and contemplative. It is mainly a crystal clear duo playing between Redman’s tenor and the bass player, with drummer Moore keeping himself in the background. Funcitydues then appeals to the switching capacity of the listener. Joie de Vivre contained a theme and a pulse, here the trio immediately explodes into a wild, high-energy theme and tempoless group improvisation. These two pieces give a good impression of the vastness of Redman’s playing field.
Canadian flutist and soprano player Jane Bunnett composed Don’s Light, which was recorded in 2002 on her album Spirituals and Dedications. Redman plays tenor here in a sextet line-up. It opens with a slow, simple, hymn-like melody, before Bunnett’s soprano saxophone joins in with a second voice. The piano supports with tonal harmonies. Here, too, the atmosphere is contemplative, if not ‘spiritual’. With Tarik (1969) we return to a trio line-up, this time with the drummer in a leading role alongside Redman: Ed Blackwell. We know Blackwell from his collaboration with alto player Ornette Coleman – and there was also a long and productive musical contact between Redman and Coleman. Redman plays shehnai here – also called ‘musette’ – which takes us to non-Western music in terms of timbre and scale. The piece opens and closes with Blackwell’s drumming, who also gets solo space halfway through. His drumming is clearly African inspired. Multicolored drumming, characterized by almost no use of cymbals in his solos, as well as long repeated patterns. (Blackwell also stars on Ornette Coleman’s 1962 album Ornette!).
In the other six pieces you can hear Redman in a duo with drummer Elvin Jones, and completely solo on zither and tenor sax respectively. Yes, Dewey Redman is a multi-faceted diamond.
Click for the Guide. The Art of the Improvisers – Michael Moore
This program is the first in a series about Dewey Redman.
