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Journalism of Courage
Jazz musician Joshua Redman may be performing in India only for the first time,but he already has a bit of a Mumbai connection. My dad came and performed here in 1993-94, the saxophonist informs us. His father,Dewy Redman,was a well-known jazz musician himself. Its no wonder then,that just like he followed his fathers footsteps in music,Joshua also seems to be pursue his trail to Mumbai. He says that hes familiar with jazz from India,although he confesses that its not very in-depth knowledge and adds,Indias actually been on my list for a long time. Ive waited 41 years to get here, laughs the 41-year-old musician.
Luckily,Joshuas wish has come true as he performs at the Blue Frog tonight,as part of the NCPA-Blue Frog Concert series (he performed last night at the NCPA). With this Mumbais dream to see a world-class jazz musician perform in the city,which was once well-known for its love of the music,has come true. And while the citys music aficionados have been talking about the concert ever since it was announced,Joshua himself has been very excited about the trip. It feels great to be performing in India. The country always shows up as a possible place for international performers to perform but most times falls through because of logistical reasons. So when I got to know that we were performing in India,I didnt believe it. For me it was like I would know for sure when I got onto the plane.
Joshua picked up the saxophone when he 10 years old,and went on to play with the Berkeley High Jazz Ensemble. He won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 1991 and has been one of the most sought-after musicians in the world. Hes performed with stalwarts like Chick Correa,BB King,Elvin Jones,Roy Haynes,McCoy Tyner and his father,Dewey Redman.
Unfortunately,his stay in India is of too short a duration to produce any collaborations with Indian musicians. He says,I have heard a few Indian musicians including T H Vinayakram,my ghatam teacher,Ustad Bismillah Khan (my mom loves the shehnai),Ravi Shankar and Zakir Hussain. Zakir and I almost performed twice,theres nothing in the pipeline as far as collaborations are concerned.
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