Jazz Articles about Rob Reddy

Rob Reddy: Citizen Quintet

by Alberto Bazzurro
March 9, 2017

Allievo di Ken McIntyre e Dave Liebman, attivo sulla scena jazzistica alla testa di propri gruppi a partire dalla fine degli anni Ottanta, e in parallelo in seno a formazioni dirette da Reggie Workman e Ronald Shannon Jackson, il sopranista Rob Reddy ha maturato nel corso degli anni una visione alquanto personale del fare jazz, come questo bell'album in quintetto, registrato nel luglio 2016 con dentro musicisti del calibro di Pheeroan akLaff, altro suo sodale di lunga data, e Brandon ...

Rob Reddy: Bechet: Our Contemporary

by Alberto Bazzurro
December 4, 2015

Omaggiando Bechet ma attraverso una lente in più frangenti memore della lezione mingusiana, oltre che attenta a esperienze decisamente più contemporanee, attorniato da un organico di primo piano, il quarantanovenne sopranista, compositore (suo metà del materiale tematico del disco) e arrangiatore (tutto il resto, ovviamente griffato Bechet) newyorchese Rob Reddy firma un lavoro capace di emanciparsi brillantemente dalla classica sintassi del mero jazz revival (pur tutt'altro che assente in diversi passaggi, o interi episodi, dell'album), confezionando un prodotto di estrema ...

Rob Reddy: Bechet: Our Contemporary

by Glenn Astarita
September 21, 2015

Prominent New York City progressive saxophonist and composer, Rob Reddy contemporizes innovative soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet's artistic persona with his large ensemble, featuring several longtime associates, violinist Charles Burnham, bassist Dom Richards and drummer Pheeroan Aklaff. Reddy doesn't simply restate the past, but more importantly intertwines the trad jazz component with a scintillating and upbeat commingling of nouveau applications. Bechet's wide vibrato technique, full-bodied and animated improvisational acumen extended conventional norms into the upper strata during his heyday ...

Rob Reddy: Bechet: Our Contemporary

by Troy Collins
September 2, 2015

With so much history to explore, tribute albums to jazz greats have become an established custom, regularly issued by artists of varying experience, from neophytes to masters. The most efficacious of these homages provide a fresh perspective on longstanding traditions, tracing the lineage of current concepts to past advances. A salient example of this phenomenon is Bechet: Our Contemporary, Rob Reddy's inspired ode to fellow soprano saxophonist and legendary innovator Sidney Bechet. Reddy has been active in the New York ...

Rob Reddy's Small Town: The Book of the Storm

by Donald Elfman
November 5, 2007

This “Small Town --Reddy's large ensemble--has created a massive statement that shows just where jazz composition, new music, collective improvisation and individual expression meet. The leader, though a vital and engaging instrumentalist, envisioned this four-part suite as a situation where he would not play his saxophones. What took shape, instead, was a huge structure that revolved around a core of musicians with whom Reddy has been regularly involved. It's a maelstrom of sound in which players disappear into the storm ...

Rob Reddy's Small Town: The Book of the Storm

by Nic Jones
September 23, 2007

This is a break with precedent for saxophonist and composer Reddy, as it's the first time he's recorded an extended composition for a large ensemble of which he's not a performing member. His role here is that of both composer and conductor, and he's fortunate indeed to have a group so clearly capable of making his music come to life.

A note of caution needs to be sounded, however. Any listener of a reactionary frame of mind is going to ...

Rob Reddy's Small Town: The Book of the Storm

by Jerry D'Souza
September 20, 2007

Rob Reddy puts his saxophone aside to concentrate on composition for The Book of the Storm. Reddy has already shown that he has germane ideas and brings that facet into prominence once more.

The idea for a large ensemble came to him in 2001. Reddy could not contain the ideas that went through his imagination in a single narrative, so he parlayed that into a process that finally evolved into a four-part suite. The poet Tomas Tranströmer provides the next ...