Joshua Redman: Passage Of Time : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The equivalent of a concept album for the jazz musician is a set of songs that have a thematic thread, a narrative flow. Granted, not every sax player, for instance, can conjure the weight of John Coltrane's Love Supreme. But Joshua Redman succeeds with a simple, linear slant to his first CD billed with his working quartet. After dabbling with soprano and alto saxes (and dipping into standards by Bob Dylan and the Beatles on 1998's Timeless Tales), Redman focuses on tenor. Then, between the floating filigrees and drones of his solo opener "Before" and the more defined "After," Redman and his band deliver a contemplative, segue-bridged set. On the two-phase standout "Free Speech," pianist Aaron Goldberg pushes against drummer Gregory Hutchinson's crashing pulse, before the band drops into a subdued progression that slips in and out of stately melody, the mark of Redman's rite of passage. (PAUL ROBICHEAU)