Tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman, father of popular saxophonist Joshua Redman, passed away on Saturday of liver failure at the age of 75.
Redman was a childhood friend of avant-garde saxman Ornette Coleman, and would eventually play with Coleman on albums like New York Is Now! and Science Fiction, earning himself a reputation for favoring raw emotion over theory and technique. In his work with Coleman -- as well as future endeavors with Keith Jarrett's "American quartet" alongside legendary bassist Charlie Haden in the early '70s -- Redman found a bridge between the traditional structures of jazz and the free-form experimentation that was blossoming at the time.
"Technique is OK, but if you got the technique and I got a good sound, I'll beat you every time," Redman said in a 2003 interview. "You can play a thousand notes and I can play one note and wipe you out."
Redman and Coleman remained close long after they stopped playing together, and Redman won rave reviews with a Lincoln Center performance of Coleman's work in 2004. His final concert was on August 27th of this year at the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Manhattan. In addition to leading his own bands for the better part of four decades, Redman also recorded on two occasions with his son, Joshua. While Redman was quick to state his pride for his successful son -- who eclipsed him in fame and earnings -- he was also quick to claim that father would always know best.
Dewey Redman is survived by two sons -- Joshua and Tarik -- and his wife Lidija Pedevska-Redman. His eldest son, Kenthony, passed away earlier this year.
--The ARTISTdirect Staff
09.06.06
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