RoundAgain

This release is this quartet's first recording since 1994’s MoodSwing.{{cite web |title=Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride & Brian Blade Reunite After 26 Years with July 10 Release of "RoundAgain" - Nonesuch Records |url=https://www.nonesuch.com/journal/joshua-redman-brad-mehldau-christian-mcbride-brian-blade-reunite-after-26-years-july-10-2020-03-24 |publisher=Nonesuch Records |access-date=31 May 2020 |language=en}} The album features seven new compositions: three by Redman, two by Mehldau, and one each by McBride and Blade.{{cite web |title=Now That They've Conquered The World: Joshua Redman Quartet Readies A New Album |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/03/24/820130512/now-that-theyve-conquered-the-world-joshua-redman-quartet-readies-a-new-album |publisher=NPR |access-date=31 May 2020 |language=en}} The album was recorded at Sear Sound Studio C, New York City, on September 10–12, 2019.{{cite web |title= RoundAgain by Joshua Redman + Brad Mehldau + Christian McBride + Brian Blade |url=https://www.nonesuch.com/albums/roundagain |publisher=Nonesuch Records |access-date=July 11, 2020}} The album was completed just before the pandemic lockdown.{{cite web |title=After 26 years, everything - and nothing - has changed | url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/after-26-years-everything-and-nothing-has-changed-20200709-p55a8j.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=6 August 2020 |language=en |date=9 July 2020}}JAZZIZ Magazine included the album in its list of "10 Albums You Need to Know: July 2020".{{cite web |last1=Micucci |first1=Matt |title=10 Albums You Need to Know: July 2020 |url=https://www.jazziz.com/10-albums-you-need-to-know-july-2020/ |website=JAZZIZ Magazine |access-date=6 August 2020 |date=2 July 2020}}

At Metacritic, that assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 86, based on four reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".

Giovanni Russonello of The New York Times wrote, "If “RoundAgain” has anything notably in common with “MoodSwing,” it is the feeling of musicians with a scary level of talent playing into the moment, with full faith that they belong within a lineage. The blend of outside influences into a consensual jazz language, the polyrhythmic play, the scholarly bravado: All those things felt fresh for these musicians in the 1990s, even if they usually don’t for young musicians right now. There’s something undeniable — consoling, even — about hearing them remain true to it today."{{cite web |last1=Russonello |first1=Giovanni |title=Redman, Mehldau, McBride and Blade Take Another Spin, 26 Years Later |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/arts/music/redman-mehldau-mcbride-blade-roundagain-review.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=16 July 2020 |date=9 July 2020}} Phillip Booth in his review for JazzTimes stated, "RoundAgain features a fresh batch of tunes by these acclaimed artists, bolstered by each player’s gifts as a top-shelf instrumentalist, powered by their steadfast ability to sync up, and informed by their collective experience in a wide variety of settings."{{cite web |last1=Booth |first1=Philip |title=Redman Mehldau McBride Blade: RoundAgain (Nonesuch) |url=https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/redman-mehldau-mcbride-blade-roundagain-nonesuch/ |website=JazzTimes |access-date=16 July 2020 |date=10 July 2020}}

Mike Flynn of Jazzwise commented, "Once considered jazz’s 1990s brat pack, the Joshua Redman Quartet’s members are now edging toward elder-statesmen status and all rank among today’s top-billed artists."{{cite web |last1=Flynn |first1=Mike |title=Redman, Mehldau, McBride and Blade in the Mood again |url=https://www.jazzwise.com/news/article/redman-mehldau-mcbride-and-blade-in-the-mood-again |website=Jazzwise |access-date=16 July 2020 |language=en |date=26 March 2020}} Matt Collar writing for AllMusic stated, " In some ways, RoundAgain feels like the perfect follow-up to MoodSwing, an album that could have arrived in the late '90s. Yet, it is hard to imagine Redman and his quartet summoning the same warmth and relaxed intensity that they do here without the decades of experience and deep familiarity they've cultivated with each other over the years." Robert Middleton of All About Jazz observed, "This is an album delving deeply into many themes and feelings reflecting life today in our crazy, troubled, dark, and yet somehow extraordinary times. It is alive, sublime, deep and exquisite in its tone and interplay. Four masters deliver a truly satisfying album."

{{Track listing

| title_width = 400px

| total_length = 44:38

| title1 = Undertow

| writer1 = Redman

| length1 = 7:22

| title2 = Moe Honk

| writer2 = Mehldau

| length2 = 7:11

| title3 = Silly Little Love Song

| writer3 = Redman

| length3 = 7:01

| title4 = Right Back Round Again

| writer4 = Redman

| length4 = 6:00

| title5 = Floppy Diss

| writer5 = McBride

| length5 = 5:22

| title6 = Father

| writer6 = Mehldau

| length6 = 6:37

| title7 = Your Part to Play

| writer7 = Blade

| length7 = 5:04

}}

Musicians

• Joshua Redman – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
• Brad Mehldau – piano
• Christian McBride – bass
• Brian Blade – drums

Production

• Joshua Redman – producer, liner notes
• James Farber – associate producer, engineer
• Greg Calbi – engineer (mastering)
• JN-H – engineer (lacquer cutting)
• James Farber – engineer (mixing)
• Brian Montgomery – engineer (additional engineering)
• Owen Mulholland – engineer (assistant engineer)
• GuessWorks, Inc. (Andre Guess, Cheryl Guess) – management
• International Music Network – management
• Middle Way Music – management
• Wilkins Management, Inc. – management
• John Gall – design
• Michael Wilson – photography

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://www.joshuaredman.com/news/joshua-redman-brad-mehldau-christian-mcbride-brian-blade-reunite-after-26-years-july-10-release}}

{{Joshua Redman}}

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Category:Joshua Redman albums

Category:2020 albums

Category:Nonesuch Records albums