Joshua Redman: Beyond

What sets saxophonist Joshua Redman apart from other contemporary jazz artists is his enthusiasm for songwriting, an enthusiasm he articulates in Beyond. Redman has created his own rich melodies that can fold into themselves or free the space for colorful possibilities. His playing is balanced, surprising, and sure. It is only by the third track that Redman returns to his signature smoothness, an aspect of his music that has turned from a predictable pleasure into a nostalgic indulgence. In place of his quiet and legato but forceful sound, Redman blasts into these pieces with a new edge.

Introductions repeat their wrenching tones, rolling into a piano solo that blends into a bass line that invites meditation on sparseness; endings fade out so slowly you want to turn up the stereo, but by the time you've stopped musing on the way Redman wraps you into 10 minutes of presence with just a few instruments, the next song's percussion throws you back onto your couch.

When Redman joins guest tenor saxophonist Mark Turner in "Leap of Faith," sounds grow upon each other like creeping vines. Matching the intensity of the tenor sax with a soprano sound usually reserved for emotional frailty, Redman challenges jazz convention. What results is not so much the typical communication between instruments but a theme that rises and retreats. Pianist Aaron Goldberg adds to this unity with sustained chord progressions and a control that is elegant rather than overbearing.

The goal of a jazz musician, Redman suggests in the liner notes to Timeless Tales, is to tell a story and let it breathe, to open a sound that "flows through you wherever you are, whenever you tell it." The audience spins its own story, building layers onto the artist's interpretations. In his new album, Redman doesn't need liner notes or standards to weave inspiration. He takes us into the Beyond, telling a story that's untouchable at the moment it touches you. (Warner Bros.)

—Lise Clavel

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