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26/7/05
7:55 pm
Page 100
100 Drum: BEATS
up to speed:
JOSHUA REDMAN
Releasing two albums simultaneously, the prolific and charismatic
bandleader, composer and saxophonist discusses the future of music
and preconceptions of jazz with Lee Hodkinson.
Why call the new Elastic Band’s album Momentum?
One title idea was Silly Little Love Songs after a track
we didn’t use. Another was We’re Not Sound Checking.
Titles are usually afterthoughts. Naming music takes it
out of its own realm and into the realm of words; the
music I play generally isn’t vocal, so trying to find a
word to capture the spirit of it is difficult. But the title has
relevance. Momentum’s a physics term, in a way a
transitional term – I see the band in a transition. Also,
Momentum is more energetic compared to earlier work.
Can you tell us about the process behind making it?
I conceived the album as having a flowing storyline.
We live in the internet age. You can’t expect people to
listen to your album from beginning to end; people pick
and choose tracks on their computers, which is fine. I’m
not frustrated, change is inevitable. But the album as
an artistic concept is heading to extinction. I don’t
think artists will make them in 20 years; they’ll be
anachronisms and indulgences, but as long as I can
make albums, I will. I started to use electric instruments
and departed from acoustic, swing-based jazz on the
previous album Elastic. I used funk and rock grooves, I
got my feet wet on that album, on Momentum I’m
knee deep in new stylistic territory, there’s lots more
techniques and elements from outside of jazz in there,
but it’s still a highly improvisational jazz album.
How about SFJAZZ Collective, the acoustic album
made with San Francisco Jazz Organization (SFJAZZ)
and released the same day as Momentum Is that
more ‘traditional’?
SFJAZZ Collective is just as modern as Momentum in
many ways; it’s just a different musical context. The
instrumentation is all I would call ‘traditional’ – the
compositions are very modern. I’m the Artistic
Director, but the music is a collective consensus.
Jazz seems at loggerheads with itself, the ‘traditional’
locked in battle against the ‘contemporary’, yet your
music transcends the in-fighting. Is this a conscious
effort?
I’m aware of the ongoing dialogue or ‘tension’ between
the forces of tradition and modernity in jazz, or at least
the perception. A lot of the ‘tension’ is media driven,
rather than an artistic reality; a lot of the best music
has elements of both. I just do what feels right at the
time and trust my musical instincts. Flea, Meshell
Ndegeocello and ?uestlove are on Elastic because I
love their work, not to try and reach out to a ‘non jazz’
audience.
The Joshua Redman Elastic Band’s Momentum &
SFJAZZ’s SFJAZZ Collective are out now on Nonsuch
Records.