by The Bad Plus Joshua Redman
The Bad Plus Joshua Redman Self Titled (PBS Feature Record)
This week’s feature album, ‘The Bad Plus Joshua Redman’ is a collaboration between trio The Bad Plus and saxophonist Joshua Redman. The album is out on Nonesuch Records.
In 2011, The Bad Plus invited saxophonist Joshua Redman to join them for a week of enthusiastically received performances at the Blue Note in New York City. They then played a handful of dates before heading into the studio last year to record their debut album, The Bad Plus Joshua Redman, which Nonesuch Records released on May 26, 2015. Seven of the nine tracks on The Bad Plus Joshua Redman are new compositions by the quartet members: Redman and The Bad Plus bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson, and drummer David King. The other two songs on the album, "Dirty Blonde" and "Silence Is The Question," are new arrangements of Bad Plus favorites.
The Bad Plus has almost exclusively performed as a trio for its nearly 20-year existence. Guests occasionally join the band in concert, but only one of their previous 10 albums has included a fourth member. Redman, however, has long enjoyed mixing his musical partners. He has collaborated with Brian Blade, Christian McBride, Brad Mehldau, and Pat Metheny, as well as with the SFJAZZ Collective and his bandmates in James Farm.
The Bad Plus and Joshua Redman are currently touring extensively in the USA and Europe http://www.thebadplus.com/tour-dates.php
Immigrant Union Anyway (Featured on The Breakfast Spread)
After listening to Immigrant Union’s second album Anyway, I challenge you to not put ‘I can’t return’ on repeat. It’s a standout song on a killer album that you’ll be playing for weeks. Anyway is a rich, emotive album with riffs and melodies that keep you hooked from the first track, and the quality is reflective of the talent on the album – including Brent DeBoer (Dandy Warhols), Courtney Barnett and Bob Harrow. Although there’s a clear sense of nostalgia on this album both in sound and feeling, it’s not a re-hashed rock album from another era. DeBoer and Harrow have taken the sounds they like and done something enticing and new with them. The title track ‘Anyway’ is 7 minutes of contemplative drama, while the opener ‘Shameless’ is far more light-hearted and carefree. Expect the album to run like that, going from light to shade, to the stirring harmonica on ‘In time’ that gives the album a real alt-country blended with folk sound. This is a fabulous album that everyone should hear from start to finish. You’ll play it again, I’m sure.
By Cat – The Breakfast Spread
This week's Top 10:
