In this week’s paper I previewed tonight’s performances by the Joshua Redman Trio at City Winery; the sets support the very strong record the saxophonist released earlier this year, Trios Live (Nonesuch). As I noted in my piece, Redman has frequently embraced specific concepts or sounds in which to couch his music-making—a practice the live album eschews. One such project is the quartet James Farm—a group that also includes pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman, and drummer Eric Harland, all bandleaders in their own right. All four members contribute compositions to their own songbook, although as you can hear on the band’s recently released second album City Folk (also released by Nonesuch) their democratic approach encourages a common aesthetic within each voice.
Toshio Hosokawa, Orchestral Works 2 (Naxos)Chuck Johnson, Crows in the Basilica (Three Lobed)Ashley Paul, Line the Clouds (RELEiko Ishibashi, Imitation of Life (Drag City)Autechre, Exai (Warp)
