Joshua Redman's 1995 double live CD captures the red-hot young saxophonist/composer in top form in one of jazz's signature venues - the Village Vanguard, site of many of the music's most significant and enduring live albums. In this edition of his quartet - pianist Peter Martin, bassist Christopher Thomas and drummer Brian Blade - Redman finds collaborators who have achieved a special rapport since meeting and playing together in New Orleans.
"This is an important album for me," says Joshua, "because it captures for the first time the live sound of my touring band - and the freedom and the immediacy that is only possible in a live setting with a real, live audience!"
Redman contributes eleven of the songs on Spirit of the Moment. In addition, there are several standards, including "My One and Only Love," "Just in Time" and "Remember," as well as Sonny Rollins' classic "St. Thomas."
"I want to explore music's gamut, run its expressive range, go wherever my band goes, however we feel," says Joshua, who considers the Vanguard an inspirational, acoustically perfect setting. "During the week of recording, I wanted to focus on intensity, adventure, spontaneity and beauty in a context of flexible and sensitive group interaction. I wanted everything to be 'raw,' in that it all comes from the soul - crystallized but not contrived - even when it's lush, soft, quiet, or reflective."