Joshua Redman: Timeless Tales "For Changing Times" (1998 – Warner Bros)

Where does the time go? The ‘90s seem to be flying by faster than previous decades. Tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman  just came up a few years back in a media “explosion” that introduced his Warner Bros. albums and provided biographical details about his Berkeley youth years, his Harvard credentials, his Thelonious Monk Institute award, and the differences in style between Josh and his father, saxophonist Dewey Redman. In just three months (already) the younger Redman will turn 30. Far from being born “with a silver spoon in his mouth” the saxophonist has shown creative skills as an expressive communicator through his instrument and as an innovator who will readily pump up the hard-core edge in his performances. The acoustic piano trio on Timeless Tales is a perfect fit and each artist can be heard clearly in support of Redman’s melodies. Redman employs the alto sax on “Yesterdays,” “Love For Sale” & “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” and soprano sax on “I Had a King” & “Eleanor Rigby.”
“Summertime” begins the session, which is somewhat lightweight while remaining within the confines of a creative journey. Redman’s approach to the horn is warm and laid-back, while the trio behind him explores various textures from a subdued vantagepoint. Right from the start, each of the four artists show that they prefer creative interplay and a free flow of ideas. Cole Porter’s “Love For Sale,” Jerome Kern’s “Yesterdays,” and Irving Berlin’s “How Deep Is the Ocean” certainly come to mind as classic jazz standards, but Redman’s decision to include newer tunes too, proves his point that good music comes from all eras. The haunting melody of Joni Mitchell’s “I Had a King” is presented in a sparse setting with both pianist and saxophonist offering solo spots. Stevie Wonder’s “Visions” is presented with a Latin beat and an expressive ballad charm. The quartet picks up the energy level some on Bob Dylan’s “The Times Are A-Changin’,” which has a comfortable rural charm. These tunes tell stories. The tale accompanying “Eleanor Rigby” is a familiar one, and Redman depicts it in a manner, which contains both drama and sweetness. Prince’s “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore” ends the session in a lovely blues fashion enhanced by the quartet’s overt head-shakin’ finger-poppin’ slap-bass sense of telling a familiar story. Highly recommended.
Jim Santella (All About Jazz)

Track List:
1. Summertime
2. Interlude 1
3. Visions
4. Yesterdays
5. Interlude 2
6. I Had a King
7. The Times They Are A-Changin’
8. Interlude 3
9. It Might as Well Be Spring
10. Interlude 4
11. How Deep Is the Ocean?
12. Interlude 5

Personnel:
Joshua Redman (soprano, alto & tenor saxophones)
Brad Mehldau (piano)
Larry Grenadier (bass)
Brian Blade (drums)

Original Release Date: September 22, 1998  –  Label: Warner Bros / Wea

Buy at Amazon
Download

Brad Mehldau: " Art Of The Trio" Vol. 3: Songs (1998 – Warner Bros)

The newly renowned pianist, returning to the studio for this, his fourth American release, avoids the lengthy cadenzas which were an unusual, prominent and exciting feature of his last recording. He retains another of his distinguishing stylistic characteristics, though: witness the bravura counterpoint passage during his solo in “Unrequited.”
That said, the essential difference between this and the earlier, live date is in the frequently melancholy tone of Songs. There’s some of the excitement which Mehldau brought to his Village Vanguard recording, but it’s not widespread. He’s helped by Grenadier and Rossy; the interactivity in the trio makes for some of the high spots in their recorded output.
It just doesn’t get to me. For example, a ballad is an opportunity for a reflective pianist to really let the music breathe, something that Mehldau does on “For All We Know,” but on “Bewitched,” the slow pace seems to frustrate him, and he responds by dropping the pianist’s equivalent of a drummer’s bombs.
To some degree, he’s a remarkably untraditional jazz pianist, using counterpoint instead of swing as his central principle. Perhaps I need my jazz pianists to be a little dirtier. But there’s no question that Mehldau’s music is a treat for those who want to hear something different, and who like moodiness and melancholy expertly purveyed by an improvising pianist.
Larry Koenigsberg (All About Jazz)

Track List:
1. Song-Song
2. Unrequited
3. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
4. Exit Music (For a Film)
5. At a Loss
6. Convalescent
7. For All We Know
8. River Man
9. Young at Heart
10. Sehnsucht

Personnel:
Brad Mehldau (piano)
Larry Grenadier (bass)
Jorge Rossy (drums)

Recorded at Right Track Studios, New York, New York on May 27 & 28, 1998
Original Release Date: September 15, 1998  –  Label: Warner Bros / Wea

Buy at Amazon
Part 1  Part 2