Still Dreaming (feat. Ron Miles, Scott Colley & Brian Blade)

Album review

Transmission and legacy are at the heart of jazz. Even in the more radical moments, or even the revolutionary ones, jazz musicians have always, one way or another, paid tribute to their elders. With Still Dreaming, Joshua Redman only confirms that. With trumpet player Ron Miles, bass player Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade, the saxophonist drives a quartet which pays homage to Old and New Dreams, a band carried between 1975 and 1987 by his late father, the saxophonist Dewey Redman. A formation then composed of double bass player Charlie Haden, trumpet player Don Cherry and drummer Ed Blackwell, all former bodyguards of Ornette Coleman… But if this story about transmission and legacy is at the heart of the music of Joshua Redman and his friends, everything here is all invention and creation. These four don’t intend to take us to the museum! Even when they reinterpret compositions such as Charlie Haden’s Playing or Ornette Coleman’s Comme il faut and The Rest, their approach isn’t some kind of basic sanctification. On the contrary! We are here in the presence of four virtuoso, each being among the best in their area. As for Redman, he has rarely played that well. He’s often economic in his play. His breath, never wordy, is the one of almost mystical incantations that Colley’s and Blade’s rhythms make even more majestic. And then there is Brian Blade, this drummer performing with feathers in his hands. He’s an impressive colorist who radiates on everything he touches… In short, this is a masterful disc for sophisticated ears. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz