Thursday, January 22, 2009

NY Times reviews Joshua Redman

Joshua Redman walked onstage at the Highline Ballroom on Tuesday, tenor saxophone in hand, and flashed a smile. “Sure does feel like a different world, doesn’t it?” he said simply, a moment before starting his opening tune. The afterglow of a presidential inauguration, and this one in particular, hardly required more acknowledgment than that.

The opener was “Identity Thief,” from Mr. Redman’s superb new album, “Compass” (Nonesuch), and it set a distinctly exploratory tone. Its slow, snakelike melody involved just saxophone, bass and drums. And at first Mr. Redman dug in with the bassist Larry Grenadier and the drummer Brian Blade, both stationed to his right. Then, with the next phrase, the center shifted, and suddenly he was playing with the bassist Reuben Rogers and the drummer Gregory Hutchinson, to his left. This cross-fade repeated, back and forth and back again, before the two sides converged on a groove. (more at nytimes.com)

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Joshua Redman photos


photos from the first night are up in the photo gallery

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Friday, January 9, 2009

Maiysha on Grub Street

Via New York magazine's Grub Street:

Last month, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Maiysha's first single, "Wanna Be," was nominated for a Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. Her producer called her with the good news while she was at home in Park Slope watching Top Chef, but she'll have to DVR her shows the night of the February 8 ceremony. For this week's New York Diet, we caught up with Maiysha — whose hit is about career frustration — as she transitions from the "free pass" of holiday eating into good fighting shape for her trip to Los Angeles. (continue at nymag.com)

Maiysha performs Jan 13th with Naturally 7 at Highline Ballroom.