From the Financial Times:
Joshua Redman’s Blue Note debut is also the first time the saxophonist has recorded under his own name with a singer. Each song alludes to a place in the US, and the repertoire ranges from warhorse songbook covers to Bruce Springsteen and John Coltrane. Technical levels are high, stylistic references broad and moods are subtle and bittersweet — the album’s theme is both the joy of gathering and the angst suffered when people are unjustly separated.
It opens with a snippet of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” transformed into a brief and commanding showcase for unaccompanied tenor sax. As Redman’s pure high tones fade over Aaron Parks’ sparse piano support, vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa enters, assured, rounded and equally in control. “After Minneapolis (face toward mo[u]rning)” seethes and slow-burns from despair at political impotence to the first stirrings of hope.
Redman also adds new lyrics as well as bits of Thelonious Monk’s “San Francisco Holiday (Worry Later)” to “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”. Tempos and moods change, but for the most part sax and voice harmonise and intertwine sweetly over Joe Sanders’ steady walking bass. “That’s New England”, which includes excerpts from Charles Ives and James Sinclair’s “Three Places In New England”, develops in a similar vein.
The bulk of the set is made up of knowingly reworked covers. A jaunty “Stars Fell on Alabama” is sandwiched between a blistering version of Coltrane’s “Alabama”, inspired by racist violence. Vibraphonist Joel Ross enhances the shaded emotions of “Chicago Blues”, its meaning transformed by a female lead voice. And the bite of Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia” is intensified by guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel’s technical flair.
Redman’s band also focus on the mood of a place. New Orleans is captured by trumpeter Nicholas Payton jousting with Redman’s sax and Manhattan by the urbane swing of Peter Bernstein’s guitar. On “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”, vocals and sax mingle and soar over Brian Blade’s perfect drum support. ★★★★☆