He stumbled onto some of the tunes from the new album, Back East, from a listening session on his iPod when he came across the 1950 Sonny Rollins album Way Out West, "I'm An Old Cowhand," and "Wagon Wheels." While Rollins the innovator of the sax, bass, and drums trio, Redman utilized his own arrangements for these covers, which went over well. The band opened with the first two tracks from the new album, "Surrey With The Fringe On Top," a Rogers and Hammerstein collaboration from the musical Oklahoma! and "East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon)," a crackling display of furious bop and a Brooks Bowman standard that has also been recorded by Carlie Parker, Stan Getz, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgeald, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Betty Carter and in 1998 by Diana Krall. Also included in the set were "Mantra #5" from the new album and "Oneness of Two (In Three)" from the Moodswing album.

During his first appearance at the Jazz Winnipeg Festival, he was the surprise hit that year. That he and his two sidemen performed brilliantly came as no surprise to me, but I hope that in his next appearance, more than 500 people take in the show. More than just a stellar new generation sax player, Joshua Redman chooses to take chances artistically, and that makes him all the more someone to follow and support.

Venue: The Burton Cummings Theater, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Audience: 500

My rating for each band is .