Dad's due

I think "Dewey Redman in London," which I bought from the good folks at IndieJazz and gave its second listen recently, is a fine way to get to know Joshua Redman's dad. Yeah, the kid can play the sax, but the old man can, too. He wasn't kicking it with Ornette Coleman, Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny previously for nothing.

On "In London," he kind of reminds me of Sonny Rollins in places, with nice improvisational interpretations of "I Should Care," "The Very Thought of You" and Benny Golson's "Stablemates." Rita Marcotulli is a revelation on piano, for me anyway, on the live session from Ronnie Scott's famous jazz club in London, recorded in 1996. Matt Wilson, great on drums as always, and Cameron Brown on bass are seamless. Tunes such as "I-Pimp," "Portrait in Black & White," which starts with a spoken-word poem, "Tu-Inns," "Kleerwine" and particularly "Eleven" fit more with Redman's avant-garde jazz history, so it's a diverse disk. The give and take between Redman and Marcotulli on "Kleerwine" is outstanding.

Here's something I learned while working on writing this. Reedists Redman, Coleman and Prince Lasha and drummer Charles Moffett were in the same Texas high school marching band. Now that's something I would like to have seen, and heard.