Californian jazz man set for Belltable

CALIFORNIAN jazz artist Joshua Redman is on his way to Limerick, playing at the Belltable on September 13.

A son of legendary saxophonist Dewey Redman and dancer Renee Shedroff, he was exposed to a variety of styles of music and instruments at a very young age and began playing the clarinet at nine years of age, before switching to what became his primary instrument, the tenor saxophone, a year later.
Influences such as John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Cannonball Adderley as well as the likes of the Beatles, Prince, The Police and Led Zeppelin drew him deeply into music but his first priority was academics and in 1991 he graduated from Harvard, with a degree in social studies.
After graduating, he moved to New York and quickly immersed himself in the city’s jazz scene. He began playing regularly with some of the leading jazz musicians of his generation and within five months of arriving in the Big Apple, he was named the winner of the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition. He also began to tour and record with a number of top jazz musicians.
His first, self-titled album was released in 1993 and he received his first Grammy nomination, firmly establishing himself as a major force to be reckoned with.
Over the years, he has released 13 albums and is just after touring Brazil. In Ireland, he will also play Dublin, Cork and Belfast.