journal.nonesuch.com

Joshua Redman Awarded 2008 Harvard Arts Medal

Congratulations to Joshua Redman, who was awarded the 2008 Harvard Arts Medal at a ceremony last Thursday evening at the New College Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Medal honors a distinguished Harvard graduate or faculty member who has achieved excellence in the arts and made a contribution to education or the public good. Redman is the 14th Harvard Arts Medal recipient. Previous honorees include John Adams, Peter Sellars, Yo-Yo Ma, John Harbison, and John Updike.

Harvard's president, Drew Gilpin Faust, presented Redman with the award, followed by a conversation with the musician moderated by actor John Lithgow. The ceremony helped kick off the Arts First 2008 weekend of arts events at Harvard. For more information, visit news.harvard.edu.

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Joshua Redman and the SFJAZZ Collective's Nonesuch catalogs are now available in the Nonesuch Store. Click here to add Redman's 2007 CD, Back East, directly to your Shopping Cart for $16 and download the album MP3s at no extra charge.

Mehldau, Frisell, Redman to Play JVC Jazz NY, Part of "One of the More Promising Lineups" in Years (NY Times)

Brad Mehldau, Bill Frisell, and Joshua Redman will be among the participants in this year's JVC Jazz Festival New York, for which tickets went on sale today. The event will run from June 15 through 28 in multiple venues, including Carnegie Hall---hosting a broad range of artists like João Gilberto, Herbie Hancock, Al Green, and Mos Def---and a new venue, Le Poisson Rouge, programmed exclusively by Festival organizers, Festival Network.

Brad Mehldau will perform in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall on June 22. Bill Frisell's trio will perform at the new space, on June 19, as will Joshua Redman, on June 26 and 27, in performances with the band Soulive.

The New York Times' Ben Ratliff calls recent structural changes at the Festival organization one that left the event itself "undiminished and newly energized." He finds this year's programming "edging closer to a truer reflection of serious jazz, with one of the more promising lineups in recent years." To read his article on George Wein, the event's founder, and the 2008 Festival, visit nytimes.com.

For full program and ticket information, visit festivalnetwork.com.

NY Sun: Joshua Redman "At the Top of His Game" at NYC Performances

Joshua Redman continues his weeklong run at New York's famed Village Vanguard with bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Brian Blade through Sunday. The New York Sun's Will Friedwald was at the opening set of the residency this past Tuesday and found Redman to be "constantly playful, exuberant, and at the top of his game. On every number, both the originals and the standards, he made a spectator sport of playing with everything he could."

The trio opened with its rendition of "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top," which Redman recorded for last year's Nonesuch release Back East; Friedwald calls the number "a high-octane, exhilarating ride" that "typified" the rest of the show.

To read the concert review, visit nysun.com.

Joshua Redman Kicks Off Week of Village Vanguard Shows

Joshua Redman sets up shop at New York City's Village Vanguard tonight for a week's residency at the legendary jazz venue with Reuben Rogers on bass and Brian Blade on drums, who also appear on his latest Nonesuch release, Back East. From tonight through Sunday, the group will perform 12 shows, with a 9 PM and 11 PM set each night.

For more information, visit villagevanguard.com.

Happy Birthday to Joshua Redman

Everyone at Nonesuch Records wishes Joshua Redman a very happy 39th birthday today. XM Satellite Radio invited Joshua and his Elastic Band to celebrate earlier this week with a live in-studio performance on the Live @ BJ's show on its Beyond Jazz channel. If you missed the electrifying set, with Joshua on sax, Sam Yahel on keys, and Brian Blade on drums, you can catch an encore presentation this Sunday at 7 PM ET on XM Channel 72.

For more information, visit xmradio.com.

Joshua Redman Performs a Live Birthday Set on XM Radio

Joshua Redman will be celebrating his 39th birthday two days early with a live in-studio performance tonight at 9 PM ET on the Live @ BJ's show on Beyond Jazz, XM Satellite Radio Channel 72. Joshua will play with his Elastic Band, featuring Sam Yahel on keys and Brian Blade on drums. Beyond Jazz will air an encore presentation of the show on Sunday at 7 PM ET.

For more information, visit xmradio.com.

Mercury News: Ibrahim Ferrer, Joshua Redman Records Among Best of 2007

Ibrahim Ferrer's Mi Sueno tops the list of last year's best in jazz according to the San Jose Mercury News, and its beauty extends beyond the boundaries of genre, according to critic Jim Harrington. He writes that Ferrer's posthumously released record is "nothing less than an absolute dream recording for Latin music lovers." Harrington continues:

The tracks are all breathtaking, and Ferrer's performance, in my mind, further cements his place among the very best singers in history. Mi Sueno is a work of understated elegance, yet bursting with romance, and it's the single greatest new disc—of any genre—that I heard in 2007.

Also on Harrington's list is Joshua Redman's Back East, on which the "saxophonist shuffles the deck in a new way and still manages to deal straight aces," creating what Harrington says is Redman's best album in years.

For the complete Top Ten list, visit mercurynews.com.

NY Times: Joshua Redman's "Back East" Best of 2007

Joshua Redman's Back East is number one on New York Times music critic Ben Ratliff's list of the best CDs of 2007. Summing up the record, Ratliff writes: "Here Mr. Redman compresses his goals, leaves distractions behind and makes the most agile and personal record of his career."

Back East makes fellow Times critic Nate Chinen's best-of list as well. Redman, Chinen writes, "has never sounded more at ease than he does here," and the performance by Joshua's father, late saxophonist Dewey Redman, in his last studio recording, "raises stakes as well as hairs."

To read Ratliff's Top Ten, click here; for Chinen's list, click here.

Contra Costa Times: Redman, Mehldau at SFJAZZ Among Year's Best Concerts

It was a powerhouse line-up when SFJAZZ gathered Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, and Brian Blade at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre with a tribute to Thelonius Monk on May 4 of this year, so it's no surprise that Jim Harrington in the Contra Costa Times says it was one of the best jazz concerts of the year. To read what Harrington has to say about the year's best sets, visit contracostatimes.com.

LA Times: Redman, N'Dour Among Best of 2007

The Los Angeles Times has revealed its pop music critics' lists of their favorites for the year. On staff writer Dan Heckman's list for the best in jazz is Joshua Redman's Back East and for the best in world music, Youssou N'Dour's Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take).

Heckman calls Redman "one of the rare under-40 musicians who are making waves" and says the new album showcases "his ability to star in the difficult saxophone-bass-drums instrumental format." And with Youssou's new record, writes Heckman, "The irresistible appeal of N'Dour's emotion-laden voice and irresistibly body-moving music has reached well beyond the arena of African music"

For the complete list from the Times, visit latimes.com.

Eight Grammy Nominations for Nonesuch Albums

 

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has just announced the nominees for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. Nonesuch Records congratulates Wilco, Ry Cooder, Joshua Redman, and the cast of Company for their nods. Wilco is nominated for Best Rock Album for Sky Blue Sky, Ry Cooder for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album for My Name Is Buddy, and Joshua Redman for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance for Back East; the Broadway cast recording for Stephen Sondheim's Company is a nominee for Best Musical Show Album.

Heartfelt congratulations go to the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, whose recording of her husband Peter Lieberson's Neruda Songs is nominated in an astounding three categories: Best Classical Album, Best Classical Vocal Performance, and Best Classical Contemporary Composition.

Also recognized by the Academy is Judith Sherman, the longtime producer for Steve Reich and for Kronos Quartet; she was nominated for Classical Producer of the Year. Among the year's releases for which she received the nod is the Kronos recording of Górecki's String Quartet No. 3.

The Awards ceremony will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 10, 2008, and will be broadcast live on CBS. For the complete list of nominees, visit grammy.com.

Joshua Redman's "Thrilling" London Jazz Festival Performance

The 16th annual London Jazz Festival—a 10-day affair comprising nearly 200 events across the city—came to a close this past Sunday night, but not before Joshua Redman brought his virtuoso sax playing to Queen Elizabeth Hall last Thursday. He and his trio—bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Greg Hutchinson—performed a set that included songs from his latest Nonesuch release, Back East, and the result was a stellar show that provided further proof that Redman is "a class apart" (Evening Standard).

Dave Gelly, reporting from the Festival for The Observer, called Redman's performance "the best thing I heard all week." "I've heard him before," Gelly writes, "but never in this form." He continues:

Possessing an endless fund of ideas, effortless fluency, muscular tone and an immaculate technique, he must be the most perfect tenor saxophonist alive today, and on Thursday he demonstrated flawlessly sculpted phrases and total control of the instrument, to the very extremities of its range.

Read more of Gelly's take on the Festival's events at music.guardian.co.uk.

The Financial Times says Thursday's show was "a masterclass in controlled collective improvisation." Writing in FT, Mike Hobart points particularly to the trio's performance of "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top," off the new record as "a thrilling display of musical intellect and emotional commitment." For more from the review, visit ft.com.

Guardian Names 1,000 Must-Hear Albums (Part 2: N-Z)

The Guardian has revealed the last batch of albums on its list of the 1,000 all-time must-hears. Earlier this week, we brought you Nonesuch artists A through M on the list. Here are N through Z, along with the Guardian's take on each:

• Orchestra Baobab: Specialist in All Styles (World Circuit/Nonesuch; 2002) "Until the arrival of Youssou N'Dour and his frantic mbalax style in the 80s, Orchestra Baobab dominated the Dakar music scene with their fine harmonies and blend of Latin and African styles. Invited to reform after a break of 16 years, they sounded as fresh and engaging as ever—and this time around, the quality of their recordings was vastly improved."

• Astor Piazzolla: Tango Zero Hour (1986, r. 1998) "It's impossible to summarise up the career and influence of the great Argentine nuevo tango composer and bandoneon-player. However, this Kip Hanrahan–produced studio album caught Piazzolla and his New Tango Quintet at the height of their powers."

• Radio Tarifa: Rumba Argelina (World Circuit/Nonesuch; 1993, r. 1997) "For more than a decade, Radio Tarifa were the quintessential world music band, mixing Moorish and African sounds and rhythms with catchy tunes. Singer Benjamin Escoriza adds a gritty charisma to the cleverly crafted studio concoctions of Vincent Molino and Fain S Duenas."

• Oumou Sangare: Moussolou (World Circuit/Nonesuch; 1991, r. 1999) "One of the finest female singers in Mali, Oumou Sangare is a national celebrity both for her songs and for the messages behind them. On this early recording, she was backed by a small band dominated by guitar, kamelngoni and a mournful violin that matches her fine, thoughtful songs of advice to women."

• SF Jazz Collective: SF Jazz Collective (2005) "Under Joshua Redman's leadership, the SFJC pioneered a new approach to jazz repertoire that complements their better-funded counterparts in the 'straight' world. This is the first of a series of beautifully recorded live concerts that uses Ornette Coleman's compositions as a springboard to new work."

• Taraf de Haïdouks: Band of Gypsies (2001) "International success for these gifted Romanians took their government by surprise. This generous and energetic live album boosts the collective's family core with guests including Kocani Orchestra and Bulgarian clarinetist Filip Simeonov, resulting in exultant tracks such as 'Bride in a Red Dress' and the breakneck 'Carolina.'"

• Rokia Traoré: Bowmboï (2004) "The most bravely experimental female performer in Africa, Rokia Traoré started out matching her cool, clear vocals against her own acoustic guitar and traditional instruments such as the ngoni. Here she is joined by the strings of the Kronos Quartet."

• Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) "By their fourth album, Jeff Tweedy's once stoutly country-rock group had spread their wings. Frazzled Krautrock, shortwave static and Tweedy's lovelorn melodicism formed the basis of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, to stunning effect."

Also listed were Youssou N'Dour (Immigres), Scritti Politti (Songs to Remember), and Caetano Veloso (Definitive Collection [UK]).

Check out the complete list at music.guardian.co.uk.