By Ainsley Green, Staff Writer
On Saturday, Feb. 10, the Sunderman Chamber Music Foundation Concert Series featured a performance from the Joshua Redman Group in Paul Recital Hall at 8 p.m. The jazz group featured vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa and was just one stop in their “where are we” tour, promoting and sharing the music of their record under the Blue Note Records label released on Sep. 15, 2023.
The instrumentalists included group leader Joshua Redman on tenor saxophone, Paul Cornish on piano, Philip Norris on bass and Nazir Ebo on drums. The recital hall was nearly filled to its 200 visitor capacity with members of the College and the greater Gettysburg community coming out to hear the music.
Director of the Sunderman Conservatory James Day gave an introduction to the audience before the Joshua Redman Group took the stage.
“It is my pleasure to welcome you here this evening to the Conservatory’s Paul Recital Hall featuring this evening’s concert,” Day said. “The Sunderman Chamber Music Series is an ideal centerpiece for the Conservatory; presenting a diverse array of major artists spanning a wide range of genres. [The concerts are] free and open to the public for the benefit of both the campus and surrounding regions.”
The concert began with no spoken introduction from the group members, but rather a saxophone solo by Redman that became more and more complex as it went on, giving the audience a preview into the group’s amazing expertise on each of their respective instruments. After a few minutes of saxophone, the rest of the group seamlessly entered to start their first song as a quintet. As the program continued, there were hardly any breaks between songs, but rather more solos that featured every instrumentalist in the group and their extraordinary talents. As these solos happened, the other members watched each other with smiles on their faces as they took in the improvised music along with the audience.
The program consisted of songs from the “where are we” album, most of which were recognizable crowd-pleasers. Each song blended into the next while still having characteristic styles that set them apart. Halfway through the program, Redman formally introduced the group and greeted the audience.
“It is wonderful to be here,” he said. “Finally, we made it to historic Gettysburg!”
Redman gave some information about the “where are we” album, saying that “pretty much every song on the record is about a place in the United States.”
They performed “Chicago Blues” inspired by Count Basie, Jimmy Rushing and Suzanne Stevens’ songs about Chicago, “Streets of Philadelphia” by Bruce Springsteen, and “Hotel California” by the Eagles. The group also performed an original piece by Redman, which he wrote and titled “After Minneapolis” to commemorate the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
“It takes its name after a place…where a tragic event occurred in our very recent past,” Redman remarked to give context before the solemn piece was performed. The group received a standing ovation once they finished their program for their memorable mix of songs.
The Joshua Redman Group was one of many events that will be held at the Paul Recital Hall, courtesy of the Sunderman Conservatory, to showcase the talents of Gettysburg musicians as well as others from outside the Gettysburg community. These events showcase skills that are inspirational to the future musicians and music lovers who attend the concerts.
