Mysterious Booking: In case you haven’t heard...

Mysterious Booking: In case you haven’t heard about it--and you probably haven’t because there’s been virtually no advance publicity--saxophonist Joshua Redman is coming back to the Southland. And it’s probably appropriate that he’s performing on Halloween Eve, at Cal State Long Beach’s Carpenter Auditorium.

Part of the mystery traces to the fact that the gig is being publicized, specifically, as the Trio, rather than the Joshua Redman Trio. The group consists of Redman, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade, all first-rate talent. But it’s perplexing as to why a major artist such as Redman, after an almost yearlong hiatus from performing (part of which was devoted to his marriage and honeymoon), would elect to return to action in a setting that does not place him front and center.

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* The Trio, Carpenter Auditorium, Cal State Long Beach, Thursday, 8 p.m. (562) 985-4274.