Rob Reddy
Rob Reddy: The Fine Line Between Composition and Comfort
Rob Reddy’s one of the prominent soprano saxophonists working today, but his reputation has been built upon his work as bandleader and, especially, as a composer. He’s been a presence in New York for 20 years now, having studied with soprano player Dave Liebman and reedsman Makanda Ken McIntyre before graduating from the first-ever jazz program at Greenwich Village’s New School.
Reddy played as a sideman with bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson (Jackson encouraging him to pick up the alto saxophone, an instrument he hadn’t played in years) before starting his first group, a trio with Workman and drummer Pheeroan Aklaff. His first recording, Post-War Euphoria (Songlines, 1996) was a sextet set by his group Rob Reddy’s Honor System, and was marked by all the elements that mark his music to this day: tight ensemble playing, fierce improvisation that’s never indifferent to the character of the composition, and the sextet format itself, which—personnel and instrumentation varying—has been the lineup for all but one of Reddy’s recordings. Reddy’s surrounded himself with some of improvisational music’s least generic musicians—players like Aklaff, drummer Guillermo Brown, guitarist Jef Lee Parker, bassist Dom Richards and violinist Charles Burnham—but the group performances on his CDs are, paradoxically, among the most unified and composition-centered in jazz music.
In addition to a healthy and ever-increasing number of commissions coming in for his compositions, Reddy released A Hundred Jumping Devils in late 2006, a release by his group Gift Horse. This is his first CD in five years and the first-ever release on his own Reddy Music imprint. It’s worth the wait. I spoke with Reddy about the new recording, his thoughts on composition and improvisation, the players in Gift Horse, the soprano saxophone, and much more.
Reddy played as a sideman with bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson (Jackson encouraging him to pick up the alto saxophone, an instrument he hadn’t played in years) before starting his first group, a trio with Workman and drummer Pheeroan Aklaff. His first recording, Post-War Euphoria (Songlines, 1996) was a sextet set by his group Rob Reddy’s Honor System, and was marked by all the elements that mark his music to this day: tight ensemble playing, fierce improvisation that’s never indifferent to the character of the composition, and the sextet format itself, which—personnel and instrumentation varying—has been the lineup for all but one of Reddy’s recordings. Reddy’s surrounded himself with some of improvisational music’s least generic musicians—players like Aklaff, drummer Guillermo Brown, guitarist Jef Lee Parker, bassist Dom Richards and violinist Charles Burnham—but the group performances on his CDs are, paradoxically, among the most unified and composition-centered in jazz music.
In addition to a healthy and ever-increasing number of commissions coming in for his compositions, Reddy released A Hundred Jumping Devils in late 2006, a release by his group Gift Horse. This is his first CD in five years and the first-ever release on his own Reddy Music imprint. It’s worth the wait. I spoke with Reddy about the new recording, his thoughts on composition and improvisation, the players in Gift Horse, the soprano saxophone, and much more.
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