where are we

by Joshua Redman

Overview

Joshua Redman makes his Blue Note debut with his nuanced 2023 travelog where are we. Along with being his first studio album for the storied jazz label (and his 16th overall), where are we is also his first primarily vocal-oriented production, featuring singer Gabrielle Cavassa. Also joining him is pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Joe Sanders, and drummer Brian Blade. Vocally, the California-born/New Orleans-based Cavassa has a warm sound that bridges the gap between the relaxed style of alt pop artists like Billie Eilish with jazz and R&B luminaries like Billie Holiday and Phyllis Hyman. She fits nicely alongside Redman, whose own burnished tone has always evinced a vocal-like quality. There's a sense throughout the album that Redman is pulling songs from an array of influences. Most emblematic of this broad palette is "Chicago Blues," a heady cross-stitch of Count Basie's "Goin' to Chicago" and indie singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens' "Chicago" that also features Chicago-bred vibraphonist Joel Ross. Redman returns to the hometown concept throughout the album, bringing along several special guests who each play a song associated with the place they grew up. Crescent City-born trumpeter Nicholas Payton jumps on board for a boldly reharmonized take on "Do You Know What It Means," while guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel sprinkles his fusion-influenced lines on a convincingly reworked rendition of Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia." We also get New York guitarist Peter Bernstein for an urbane and swinging take on the Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart standard "Manhattan." Elsewhere, Cavassa settles into warm readings of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "That's New England," and "Stars Fell on Alabama," all of which bring to mind the relaxed, '50s jazz of singers like June Christy, albeit with a modern creative jazz and classical-inflected artfulness that longtime Redman fans will be familiar with. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	09/15/2023
Label:	Blue Note
UPC:	0602455253002

Tracks

1. After Minneapolis (Face Toward Mo(u)rning)
2. Streets of Philadelphia
3. Chicago Blues
4. Baltimore
5. By the Time I Get to Phoenix
6. Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?
7. Manhattan
8. My Heart in San Francisco (Holiday)
9. That's New England
10. Alabama (Intro)
11. Stars Fell on Alabama
12. Alabama
13. Where Are You?

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Joshua Redman   Primary Artist,Saxophone
Gabrielle Cavassa   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Featured Artist
Peter Bernstein   Guitar
Nicholas Payton   Trumpet
Brian Blade   Drums
Aaron Parks   Piano
Joel Ross   Vibraphone
Joe Sanders   Bass
Kurt Rosenwinkel   Guitar

Technical Credits

Lorenz Hart   Composer
Joshua Redman   Editing,Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Lyricist,Producer,Liner Notes
Thelonious Monk   Composer
Bruce Springsteen   Composer
George Cory   Composer
Mitchell Parish   Composer
Woody Guthrie   Composer
Sufjan Stevens   Composer
Harold Adamson   Composer
James Sinclair   Composer
Jimmy McHugh   Composer
Douglass Cross   Composer
Richard Rodgers   Composer
Louis Alter   Composer
Paul Boothe   Mixing
Wesley Fontenot   Assistant Engineer
Frank S. Perkins   Composer
Gabriel Kahane   Composer
Nancy Williams   Project Coordinator,Production Coordination
Ann Marie Wilkins   Executive Producer
Todd Gallopo   Package Design
Chris Allen   Editing,Engineer,Recording
James Rushing   Composer
Su-Rmi Givens   A&R
Joe Nino-Hernes   Mastering Engineer
Rachel Jones   A&R
Joshua Brasted   Photography
Eddie DeLange   Composer
Charles Ives   Composer
Count Basie   Composer
Jimmy Webb   Composer
John Coltrane   Composer
Free Hallas   Editing,Engineer
Tory Davis   Package Design
Mack Major   Assistant Engineer
Patrick Hendry   Cover Image
Bobby Blegen   Project Coordinator,Production Coordination
Nate Wood   Mastering,Mastering Engineer