Redman's new(ish) album "Freedom in the Groove" is quite simply incredible.
It's by far the best jazz album I bought in the past year. There's something
about the way the various instruments interact that creates a tremendous
amount of energy, excitement and, at the right times, tension in the music.
It all started for me when I had the great pleasure of seeing Redman and his
exceptional band perform at The Bottom Line here in New York a couple of
months ago. The experience literally rendered me quite speechless. I sat
silently for some time after the show and contemplated the music that had so
utterly overwhelmed me.
It wasn't until the following afternoon when I noticed myself tapping a foot
to a groove which I had only heard for the first time the previous evening,
that I realised how profoundly moving it had been.
So much of my understanding and appreciation of music was rewritten on my
first encounter with Joshua Redman. A whole new musical world was discovered
and opened up for me. And it's not so often that that happens.
If only you could hear it, you might understand why I feel the need to go on
like this...
James