A collaboration between saxophonist
Joshua Redman, forward-thinking chamber string ensemble
Brooklyn Rider, and composer
Patrick Zimmerli, 2019's
Sun on Sand is a kinetic, richly attenuated album that straddles the line between jazz and modern classical. The album is comprised of eight compositions culled from a suite by
Zimmerli which he and
Redman originally premiered in London in 2014.
Zimmerli, a jazz-trained saxophonist himself who has garnered acclaim for his hybrid orchestrations, previously supplied orchestral arrangements for
Redman on his 2013 album
Walking Shadows, and for
Brooklyn Rider on their similar collaboration with vocalist
Anne Sofie von Otter, 2016's
So Many Things. He's also worked on projects with luminaries like
the Bad Plus,
Brad Mehldau,
Ben Monder, and others. Consequently, as a composer, he brings a wide-ranging ear to
Sun on Sand, ably straddling the line between exploratory modern creative jazz and more highly structured classical soundscapes. Also joining
Redman are his equally talented rhythm section bandmates bassist
Scott Colley and drummer
Satoshi Takeishi; the latter of whom is also a longtime
Zimmerli associate going back to the '90s. The opening "Flash" is a brisk, spiraling piece with
Redman playing a serpentine melody against an equally gyroscopic string section, bringing to mind a genre-bending mix of
Sonny Rollins-meets-
Aaron Copland-meets-
Steve Reich. The rest of the album is just as engaging, as
Redman wails through falling shards of sharp orchestral glass on "Dark White," glides bird-like through
Brooklyn Rider's falling spring rain on "Soft Focus," and arises with mournful lyricism through the ensemble's deeply colored orchestral drones on "Starbursts and Haloes." The most impressive aspect of
Sun on Sand is how balanced the collaboration feels.
Redman has the facility and sound to carry the music, but
Brooklyn Rider offer a deeply textured counterpoint, while
Zimmerli's expansive voice remains ever present. ~ Matt Collar
![A Winter's Solstice [2001]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0886977153327_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "A Winter's Solstice [2001]")
