Joshua Redman (1969) became a jazz musician almost against his will. He had actually intended to become a lawyer (he graduated summa cum laude from Harvard in 1991), but what was supposed to be a one-year deferment to ‘try out’ playing jazz turned into a lifelong career. After winning the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 1991, Redman focused entirely on music and made his debut at North Sea Jazz just a year later. Early influences included John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Cannonball Adderley, and, of course, his father Dewey, who had an impressive jazz career of his own. Redman has worked with many greats, including Roy Hargrove and Christian McBride, and frequently with Brad Mehldau. In 2023, he released his first album on Blue Note, Where Are We. On its follow-up, the acclaimed 2025 album Words Fall Short, his new Joshua Redman Quartet made its debut, featuring pianist Paul Cornish, bassist Philip Norris, and drummer Nazir Ebo.
