Biography of Joshua Redman

Joshua Redman was born in 1969 in Berkeley, CA. The valedictorian of his high school class, he graduated Summa Cum Laude from Harvard in 1991 and was accepted into Yale Law School. Early in 1992, Redman decided to become a musician instead of continuing his schooling. The tenor saxophonist had won first prize at the 1991 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Saxophone Competition. His self-titled debut album as a leader appeared on Warner Bros. in 1993. He was voted the number one saxophonist of 1993 in a Down Beat critics poll. The first of Redman's two 1994 entries, Wish, was voted the best jazz album in a readers poll of the same magazine. Redman also won as Jazz Musician of the Year. Gavin Report proclaimed him Artist of the Year and his Moodswing LP, Album of the Year. A live show, recorded at New York City's Village Vanguard with pianist Peter Martin, bassist Christopher Thomas and drummer Brian Blade, was released as the double-disc Spirit of the Moment (1995). ~ John Bush