JAZZ REVIEWS : Predictability May Hurt Redman

Everything you’ve heard about 26-year-old sax sensation Joshua Redman is true.

He’s an aggressive tenor player with tone and technique to beat the band. He has a thespian’s sense of drama and the ability to reach climactic peaks two, three or even four times during an improvisation. And he has a great feel for an audience, knowing just how, and when, to generate excitement.

But there’s a downside to Redman’s style that has become more apparent as his brief career progresses. And while the positives easily outweighed the negatives on Friday when Redman’s new quartet played the Wadsworth Theater, the general direction of his playing is discouraging.

Has success spoiled him?

Too often during the long program, Redman fell into predictable patterns, establishing call-and-response segments with himself that used a single note or phrase, usually stated in the lower register, as a touchstone around which he developed counter lines. Some of this ploy, a refinement of the old honk-and-shout school of sax playing, is fine but Redman repeatedly fell into the pattern, then held on to it for too long.

Other times, he dwelt on coloring his tone with vocal overtones or sullying his sound with other tonal gimmicks. While the initial effect was impressive, the technique smacked of self-indulgence as it continued on and on.

It’s a pity that someone as talented as Redman falls so easily into this kind of repetitive hucksterism. He showed a smart narrative sense on his opening number, a new tune entitled “Herbs and Roots,” as he spun distinctive lines that piled hard against each other until breaking loose on emotional peaks.

His soprano work on another recent composition, “Second Snow” was thoughtful and contemplative during the first go-through, heated and impassioned the second. His tonal range on “Wish” matched honks and coos in the same breath with strongly initiated lines sometimes fading away in whimpers.

Redman’s earthy R&B-slanted; delivery was balanced nicely by pianist Peter Martin’s more sophisticated approach. Martin is an alert accompanist, knowing just when to add a bit of sparkle or chordal underscoring. Drummer Brian Blade was equally responsive, developing snare, tom-tom and cymbal patterns behind Redman’s insistently circular play.

Bassist Chris Thomas, who has replaced phenomenal young bassist Christian McBride in Redman’s group, was strong and agile in support of the saxophonist, but given little time to improvise on his own. His solo on Redman’s “Chill” moved in a hitched, quirky way that gave it an offbeat attraction, while his bowed introduction to “Lyric” had a suitable melodic feel for a song so titled.