Elastic (album)


Elastic is a 2002 studio album by American jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman.

Background

The album is positioned as the Redman's first full-length record with electric instruments—after eight acoustic albums. Also, Elastic follows the self-titled CD by Yaya3, which features the same lineup: Redman with keyboardist Sam Yahel and drummer Brian Blade. The Yaya3 CD came out on Loma Records, once the R&B subsidiary of Warner Bros. The concept for Yaya3 and Elastic began when Redman started playing with Yahel and Blade at the New York’s Small’s club in the late 1990s.

Reception

David R. Adler of Allmusic wrote "Coming fast on the heels of Redman's collaborative Yaya3 date with the same players, Elastic is more about pop/soul-funk than jazz, but it doesn't sacrifice any of Yaya3's organic feeling and improvisational focus. Here Yahel plays not only Hammond organ, but also Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and other assorted electric keys. Redman makes liberal use of overdubbing and signal processing, much of which is surprisingly subtle. The result is quite a lot of sound for three people, quite a lot of inspired blowing, and quite a lot of stylistic ground covered." John Fordham of The Guardian noted "...the afterglow, as so often with recent Redman discs, is surprisingly brief."

Track listing

  1. "Molten Soul"
  2. "Jazz Crimes"
  3. "The Long Way Home"
  4. "Oumou"
  5. "Still Pushin' That Rock"
  6. "Can a Good Thing Last Forever"
  7. "Boogielastic"
  8. "Unknowing"
  9. "News from the Front"
  10. "Letting Go"
  11. "The Birthday Song"

    Personnel