Joshua Redman
Website
November 2002

"...the classic jazz organ sound is a great tradition -- one that's influenced all of us. Back in my high school years that was all I wanted to listen to -- organ jazz. But that sound has become very stylized..."

Elastic
Warner Bros.
2002

Reviewed By
Chris Hovan

Yaya³
Loma Records
2002

Reviewed By
Paul West
Chris M. Slawecki

By Terry Perkins

Over the course of his decade-long recording career, saxophonist Joshua Redman has focused on traditional small group jazz lineups -- primarily with a piano/bass/drums backing band, but sometimes adding guitar to his groups or replacing the pianist with a guitarist. But Redman’s new Elastic band features the unusual lineup of sax, organ/electric keyboards and drums. In addition, Redman’s Elastic band repertoire has a decided focus on jam band grooves -- without abandoning the improvisational interaction that’s at the heart of all great jazz. In the following interview, Redman discusses how the Elastic band came about -- and his musical concept for the group.

All About Jazz: Earlier this year you appeared on a record called Yaya³ that featured the current members of the Elastic band, organ and keyboard player Sam Yahel and drummer Brian Blade. Can you talk a little about how the Yaya3 group came together?

Joshua Redman: Sure. Actually, the band was never called Yaya³ until after we had recorded and were desperately trying to figure out a title for the album. The whole thing came into existence in a very, very relaxed, completely unplanned and informal way. Sam has had a weekly gig down at a great club called Small’s in New York for a long time. And he had a regular trio with Peter Bernstein on guitar and Brian Blade on drums, who have toured and recorded with me.

There was a time in 1998 or so when “Berns” couldn’t make the gig, and Sam ­ we’ve also known each other a long time -- called and asked me to sit in and jam. I did, and I guess that was the birth of this band, though it certainly didn’t seem like it at the time. It was just a casual, informal tradition that developed. When both Brian and I were in town on Wednesdays, we’d sit in with Sam at Small’s.

After a couple of years, we began to develop a repertoire -- primarily Sam’s tunes -- and most definitely developed a chemistry as a band.

AAJ: The same lineup of musicians plays on Yaya3 and your Elastic recording. Why the differentiation in names?

JR: At some point last year I had the idea of bringing some original music I had been working on to the gigs with Sam and Brian. It wasn’t music I had ever intended for an organ trio setting -- it was conceived for a project featuring electric guitar, bass and keyboards. But I really wanted to hear what the music sounded like live, so I thought, let’s give it a try in this setting. Immediately, we had a great experience playing that music. I had a feeling I’d never had before in terms of playing “groove music.” Before, I’d never felt like I could get across the strength of the groove and the complexity of the composition -- and at the same time feel free and interactive with the other musicians. In the past, that always seemed to be a tradeoff... a groove band always seemed to have to sacrifice openness and improvisation.

But something about that stripped-down trio context really worked, and I talked to Sam about trying some other keyboard sounds and using his organ playing in a broader context. So we kind of dove into that world, and by the beginning of this year, I knew I wanted to use the band on my next record with my music. But we also had the other music we had been doing together for a long time, and I wanted to make sure that was documented. So we worked it out with Warner Brothers to record that music -- and we eventually came up with the name Yaya³. My new music was recorded for the Elastic album.

AAJ: Do you hear much difference in the music and the group sound on the two recordings?

JR: Actually, the spirit and the concept that is the core of the group is the same -- which I’m very happy about. We were able to take a small group with a very open and improvisational jazz spirit, and translate that core organ sound into music with more layers and textures and a groove approach. And yet the feeling of the band is the same, with the give and take of small group jazz, which I love so much.

Obviously the sound of the two albums is very different. Elastic has much more of a groove behind it. But actually, when we perform live we do a combination of music from the two records, and it works in a very seamless and natural way.

AAJ: You’re now working in an organ trio context, but it’s certainly very different stylistically from what most of us think as the traditional jazz organ sound made famous by Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Richard “Groove” Holmes and others.

JR: Well, a lot of that has to do with Sam. He has a very unique sound. It’s obviously influenced by the organ masters, but you don’t hear the verbatim Jimmy Smith, down home soul organ licks from Sam that you hear other organists play. He has a very modern approach, and I think especially of a great organ player like Larry Young. Sam doesn’t use the same vocabulary as Larry did, but he definitely has a modern take on the music. He’s also a piano player, and I can hear a lot of his influences like Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock coming out in his piano playing as well.

Don’t get me wrong, the classic jazz organ sound is a great tradition -- one that’s influenced all of us. Back in my high school years that was all I wanted to listen to -- organ jazz. But that sound has become very stylized, and it’s so compelling and powerful that you can get submerged in it -- and locked into a certain sound. Even though all three of us have a blues sensibility, stylistically -- and because of Sam especially -- we end up not dealing heavily in that jazz organ tradition.

AAJ: I understand that Brian has a previous commitment and won’t be appearing on some of the stops on your current tour. Who’s going to take his place?

JR: Brian is on a lot of our tour, but he’s has a previous commitment with another band he’s in as well. He has to go and play with Wayne Shorter -- the poor guy! But we have a great percussionist to take his place. His name is Jeff Ballard, and he very much has his own sound and is his own man as a drummer. He’s worked extensively with Chick Corea. Like Brian, Jeff brings a really organic feeling to the music. He has a real openness and can play great in all styles.

Photo credit: Henry Benson