This 1998 CD reissues Dewey Redman's entire The Ear of the Behearer album (although it leaves out an alternate take of "Interconnection" that was released on a different set), plus four of the seven selections from his Coincide record of a year later. Some of the music is quite adventurous and free, while other tracks include some freebop, a struttin' blues ("Boody"), and quieter ballads. Redman, a distinctive tenor saxophonist, actually plays alto on five of the first six selections; he is less memorable (although no less exploratory) on the smaller horn. Redman is joined on most cuts by trumpeter Ted Daniel, throughout the Behearer date by cellist Jane Robertson, and on the full set by bassist Sirone and drummer Eddie Moore; violinist Leroy Jenkins and percussionist Danny Johnson also make guest appearances. These two albums were Redman's only sets as a leader for Impulse. Intriguing music. - Scott Yanow
Dewey Redman said (1994): ‘I should go see Africa before I pass. That’s the homeland, and when I say Africa I mean all of that: the Mid-East, Asia, all that space and history that is so much older than us and shaped us.’
Redman grew up in Ornette Coleman’s hometown and was the anchor member of one of Ornette’s most incendiary bands between 1967 and 1974. The best advice for anyone not appreciating that music is to follow what Redman does; it makes sense. Dewey was almost 30 before he opted for a full-time musical career, and to some extent neither his recording career nor his reputation quite recovered from the slow start. He could, and should, have been one of the majors, even if one doesn’t automatically associate any great stylistic innovation with him. In fact, what he brought to the music – it’s audible in his work with Keith Jarrett, with Charlie Haden and with the Ornette repertory band Old And New Dreams – is a passionate interest in Middle Eastern music.
That is immediately evident on Ear Of The Behearer, where Redman, shortly to leave the Coleman band, plays largely on alto rather than tenor. The higher, more keening sound has an arresting Levantine quality, but what is striking about the record as a whole, particularly now that it has been paired with the material released as Coincide from the same session, is how varied Redman’s playing is. He always stated that playing in just one style bored him and almost all of his sessions manage to touch on blues, avant-garde playing, ethnically tinged material and some tracks that come close to a modernistic swing. Ear has always been a favourite Redman record, with its long blowing blues on ‘Boody’ and the more complex ‘Walls-Bridges’ and ‘Interconnection’, but the material on Coincide is just as powerful; it’s arguably the more coherent LP of the two and certainly the more affirmatively upbeat, with ‘Joie De Vivre’ and ‘Funcity Dues’ among the best short performances in the Redman canon. The strings work well together on their tracks and Daniel, an unsung hero of new music, has something of Don Cherry’s quality, but with a crisply military attack. - The Penguin Jazz Guide / Brian Morton
Tracks
01. Interconnection
02. Imani
03. Walls-Bridges
04. PS
05. Boody
06. Sunlanding
07. Image (In Disguise)
08. Seeds and Deeds
09. Joie de Vivre
10. Funcitydues
11. Qow
SIRONE bass, wood flute
JANE ROBERTSON cello
EDDIE MOORE drums, saw, timpani, gong
DANNY JOHNSON percussion
TED DANIEL trumpet, moroccan bugle
DEWEY REDMAN tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, suiona [musette]
LEROY JENKINS violin
All music composed by Dewey Redman
Recorded June 8 & 9, 1973 at Generation Sound, New York, NY
Impulse! - 12712