Dewey Redman
The Struggle Continues
ECM
By George W. Harris

ECM is in the process of going through it’s Fort Knox vaults and finally bringing out some essential older recordings for reconsideration. This release by the recently departed tenorist Dewey Redman is a welcome return. Considered one of his best, it features him not only at his fiercest, as on the aggressive “Combinations”, but also spotlights his overlooked love for 52nd St. Songs like “Dewey Square”, “Thren” and “Joie De Vivre” are played with a heart in love with and rooted in Bird and Pres. “Turn Over Baby”, with it’s funky electric bass in tow, features Redman playing Texas Tenor as if he’s having a shootout with Illinois Jacquet. Joyously varied, this disc takes the tenor from Beale Street, to 12th and Vine, and ultimately to outer space and back. Creative and compelling, recorded when artists really had something to say.