(Reprinted from the November 2022 issue of Downbeat magazine)
Leader Joshua Redman excels at configuring star-filled constellations. Among the shiniest was his 1994 quartet with pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Brian Blade—though at the time they initially recorded, only Redman was firmly fixed in the public eye. By the time Redman reconvened the group to record 2020’s Round Again for Nonesuch, however, this had changed: All four players had emerged as formidable leaders in their own right. With Long Gone, his fourth Nonesuch release, Redman again taps into the extraordinary synergism this ensemble first manifested almost three decades ago.
It’s rare that a leader—especially a virtuosic horn player, like Redman—can guide an ensemble without dominating. But the group’s sensitivity to shared musical space is unmistakable on cuts like “Long Gone,” the happy title track, as Redman solos peripatetically against Mehldau’s flawless comping, or on “Disco Ears,” as Blade and McBride lock into a relentless synchronization.
There’s plenty of individuation on this record, too. Listen to Mehldau’s extended soloing on “Kite Song,” where his two hands are so fleet that at times they sound like four. And “Ship to Shore,” where McBride peppers Blade’s unhurried groove with skittering runs during his one solo on the album. And the closing track, a live recording of a group mainstay from the 1990s—“Rejoice,” a gospel-blues tune that relies on the unchecked energy of each player to reach its fevered ascendancy.
All of these compositions are Redman originals, firmly posited in the post-bop lexicon. But at times on
“Statuesque,” the album’s only ballad, Redman steps away to dabble in romanticism: He frames the free explorations at the center of the piece with two subdued sax solos, hymn-like in their reverence. In this quiet you can hear how closely his bandmates are listening.
Long Gone: Long Gone; Disco Ears; Statuesque; Kite Song; Ship to Shore; Rejoice (47:13).
Personnel: Joshua Redman, saxophone; Brad Mehldau, piano; Christian McBride, bass; Brian Blade, drums.