Saxophonist Joshua Redman may not quite be a household name like jazz legends Miles Davis and John Coltrane, but his contribution to music has been broad and important. Redman was born February 1, 1969 and at age 10 began to play the tenor saxophone. While studying in Berkeley’s public school system, he was exposed to an exceptional jazz program that nurtured his natural abilities and enabled his entry to Harvard, where he graduated in 1991.

Shortly after graduation, he began to work in earnest on his musical career- with his style on saxophone influenced by Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Earth Wind and Fire, Led Zeppelin, Dexter Gordon, and more. Perhaps one of the most important influences in his music is his father, Dewey Redman, who worked with jazz Great Ornette Coleman. His father was rarely home during Redman’s youth due to a grueling touring schedule. A young Joshua spent hours listening to his father playing on records, in the absence of the man himself.

Redman’s communication with his father during his younger years was often through jazz, and this close emotional link between jazz and family has forged Redman’s hyper emotional and communicative style. It may have also influenced Redman’s wild and experimental style on saxophone, it is as if Redman is trying to send a message back over these recordings, saying to his father and the world “I can speak through this medium, too.”

Redman has played saxophone all over the world with Jack DeJohnette, Pat Methany, Red Rodney and Paul Motian. His current lineup for live performances and recording is an unusual configuration of double-trio featuring Larry Grenadier, Reuben Rogers, Brian Blade, and Gregory Hutchinson. The release of his newest album “Compass” has been called “a further explanation of the trio format” but really represents Redman’s desire to explore new musical avenues and forge the path for new styles in jazz music.

While his live shows have brought critical acclaim, his studio albums have not seen commercial success. Many of the current reviews of his material seem to not see the effort that Redman has put into the expansion of jazz as a style. Never content to play standards, Redman remains one of the few modern jazz composers intent on breaking musical barriers.

Joshua plays both tenor and soprano saxophones with his Selmer Super Balanced action tenor, and a Selmer Mark VI soprano rounding out his preferred saxophones.

His reed preference is Alexander NY #4s for Tenor and DC #3 1/2s for Soprano.

On both tenor and soprano saxophones Joshua uses vintage Otto Link hard rubber mouthpieces, both approximately sizes 7 or 7*.

His current tenor saxophone mouthpiece is from Eric Drake of Saxology and his current soprano mouthpiece (as well as his previous tenor mouthpiece) is from Theo Wanne of Saxophone Mouthpiece Heaven.

But remember boys and girls, Redman’s choice of saxophones, reeds, and mouthpieces enable Joshua Redman to sound like Joshua Redman, but you’re going to have to do some serious woodshed time if you ever want to approach his unique style of modern emotionally expressive jazz.