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Joshua Redman

Joshua Redman headshot outdoors while holding saxophone

Courses Taught

To Be Announced

Education

BA Harvard University

Q&A

What is your hometown?

Berkeley, CA

What are you passionate about outside of music?

Books, coffee, sports, exercise (if passionate = obsessive!).

What is your favourite recording? Why?

I don’t believe in favorites.

Who were your major teachers?

My mom, the masters, my peers.

What is your favourite quote that you'd like to share with students?

“Freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last, that [they] could help us to be free if we would listen, that [they] would never be free until we did.” - James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues”

What was the defining moment when you decided to pursue music as a career?

It was probably the moment I wrote to Yale Law School asking for an “extension” of my one-year deferment, although it didn’t necessarily present as “defining” at the time.”

What was a turning point in your career?

Moving to NYC in summer ’91, right after graduating from college.

If you weren't a musician, what do you think you would be doing now?

Wishing I were a musician.

What is your daily practice routine?

Think about needing to practice, find ways to avoid practicing, stop fooling myself, practice.

From a music history perspective, what year and city are most important to you, and why?

I’m not sure – New York City, 1959? That’s a cop out, I know!

What is your unrealized project?

To project something unreal.

What's the most rewarding part about reuniting with your original quartet for RoundAgain?

They are three of my biggest mentors, three of my dearest friends, and three of the greatest musicians of all time. Even having the chance to play with them once was reward enough for this lifetime. The second time “around” feels almost like an “advance” on the next!

Please list your three most important collaborators:

Cannot limit to three, sorry.

What recordings can we hear you on?

RoundAgain (Nonesuch)

Come What May (Nonesuch)

Still Dreaming (Nonesuch)

Nearness (Nonesuch)

The Bad Plus Joshua Redman (Nonesuch)

Media

Biography

Joshua Redman is one of the most acclaimed and charismatic jazz musicians to have emerged in the 1990s. A Bay Area native born and raised in Berkeley, CA, Redman is the son of renowned saxophonist Dewey Redman and dancer Renee Shedroff. After graduating summa cum laude from Harvard in 1991 with a B.A. in Social Studies, he deferred his admission to Yale Law School for one year so that he could indulge his passion for making music. Five months after his arrival in New York City, he won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition, which marked the beginning of what would become an illustrious career spanning nearly three decades. 

Often lauded for his ability to perceive and develop prodigious talent early on, Redman formed his first permanent quartet as a bandleader in 1994, which resulted in his seminal work MoodSwing¸ with Brad Mehldau on piano, Christian McBride on bass and Brian Blade on drums. These musicians have gone on to become some of the most illustrious and influential musicians and bandleaders in modern jazz. The group recently reunited for the newly released “RoundAgain”.   

Redman has released more than 20 albums, which have earned him multiple Grammy nominations. A perennial favorite amongst critics’ and readers’ polls alike, his work with other prominent musicians includes jazz legends like McCoy Tyner, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Charlie Haden, Chick Corea, Ornette Coleman and Elvin Jones; popular music artists like Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, The Rolling Stones, The Roots, and Dave Matthews Band; and classical music luminary Yo-Yo Ma.