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A soaring soprano sax. Majestic waves of piano chords. The shimmer of cymbals. A hackneyed tune burnished into a reformed gem. John Coltrane's rendition of "My Favorite Things?" No, Joshua Redman's version of "Eleanor Rigby." The super star saxophonist smiles sheepishly. "We hadn't intendedto sound like Coltrane. 'Favorite Things' wasn't a model in the back of our minds when we recorded 'Eleanor Rigby.' It was only afterwards, when we listened to it in the studio, that we realized [there were similarities]. We actually tried to make it sound lesslike Trane in the mix!" In fact Redman's sound can rarely be mistaken for somebody else's. It is easily identifiable, particularly on tenor sax, and is marked by a romantic warmth and confident resonance. How did he work on getting his own distinct sound? "Your sound is your soul. Everyone has an individual soul so everyone has an individual sound. I really believe that. It's just a matter of getting in touch with that sound, and articulating it through your instrument. What may have helped me is that because I was never really rigorous in the sense of studyingand practicingmy music, I never tried to sound like somebody else. So when I stepped up to the bandstand, the only thing I could do was try to play myself. Because of that, there may have been a certain raw identity that I established early. I definitely feel I have more of my own sound now than I had five years ago. That's musical evolution." The version of "Eleanor Rigby" comes from Redman's new album for Warner Bros, "timeless tales (for changing times)," which also features some wonderful work by pianist Brad Mehldau. The album is a kind of overview of popular songs from the last 60 years, with numbers by Prince and Cole Porter, Gershwin and Dylan... Was it an attempt to add new songs to the classic jazz repertoire? "That was not a concern or issue with me. That would be presumptuous. I'm trying to expand my ownrepertoire, to deal with music that's inspired me. It doesn't matter whether it's modern or older popular music, it's what you bring to it. The act of jazz improvisation and reinterpretation is a transformative act. You bring as much if not more of your own feelings to the reinterpretation as there was in the original material." At the end of the interview, I remind him of a comment he once made during a concert at New Morning: that he would like to die while playing in Paris. "Did I say that? Wow! I must have been in a very romantic frame of mind!" Would he still go out that way, if he had the choice? "I don't really like to think of opting out these days..." Yeah yeah, but if he had to? "Well, I can't think of a better way to pass than doing one of the things I love to do in one of the best places to do it, which is Paris. I might also consider something a little more traditional, surrounded by family and friends. Death is scary, and I think to be surrounded by the people who have meant the most in my life would help me deal with it..." He laughs. "How about playing jazz in Paris with all my family and friends in the audience!" |
