Joshua Redman's new album, Compass, released last month, features pieces for trio, a format he had explored on his previous release, Back East, as well as the bold combination of all five members of its two separate trios into a double trio: Redman, bassists Larry Grenadier and Reuben Rogers, and drummers Brian Blade and Gregory Hutchinson. In the March issue of JazzTimes magazine, writer Jeff Tamarkin talks to Redman about his decision to take "the trio concept to another place altogether," as Tamarkin writes, and he "ups the ante on the standard trio model" for Compass.

"I went through this process of rejecting the idea as dangerous and probably foolhardy," Redman tells Tamarkin. "But my instinct kept bringing me back to it. I had never done this before and I’d never been part of [anything like it] before."

"What makes the double trio tracks on Compass work," Tamarkin explains, "aside from the abilities and distinctive voices of the musicians themselves, is the decision by Redman (who also produced) and engineer James Farber to place one bass and drum team on the left side of the mix and the other on the right. The split keeps the jams from jumbling up and provides something of a surreal listening experience as the approaches by the two side-by-side rhythm sections shift radically and repeatedly."

Redman goes on to explain the significance of the album's title, Compass, as it relates to this new musical adventures. It "refers to going on a journey and the sense of travel without a clear map, or even a clear sense of where you’re heading," Redman says. "The compass is what we use to orient ourselves. So I think, especially with the double trio, there’s a sense of sailing off into the unknown, a sense of adventure, but at the same time the importance of navigating through that."

Read the complete article at jazztimes.com.

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Redman is currently touring through Europe with one of those Compass trios, Rogers and Hutchinson. For upcoming dates, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.