1979 · Album
Musics
Recorded 1978 · Galaxy · Personnel: Dewey Redman (tenor saxophone), Fred Simmons (piano), Mark Helias (bass), Eddie Moore (percussion)
A Solid Tour Through Redman's Landscape
Redman's tenor cuts through tasteful piano and heroic bass work with unobtrusive, propulsive rhythm underneath.
When Musics (1978) came out on Galaxy, critics took notice right away. DownBeat reviewer Art Lange called it "a solid, satisfying tour through Dewey Redman's musical landscape," and the magazine gave it 4 stars. AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow acknowledged it as one of Redman's more accessible sessions, though he noted the music didn't push quite as far into exploration as some of his other work. That balance—accessible but not diluted—is what makes this record worth hearing.
Redman leads a tight quartet here: Fred Simmons on piano, Mark Helias on bass, and Eddie Moore on percussion. Simmons delivers tasteful arabesques that don't clutter the sound; Helias provides the kind of solid low end that lets the saxophonist breathe; Moore stays out of the way while keeping things moving. This is a working band in the best sense, not a session thrown together. The tenor sax gets room to twist and turn without anyone fighting for space.
This sits somewhere in the middle of Redman's catalog—not early enough to be a discovery, not late enough to feel reflective, but sturdy enough to deserve an audience beyond hard-core collectors. If you want Redman playing with clarity and purpose over strong accompaniment, this is the record to reach for. It doesn't reinvent anything, but it does what it sets out to do well.
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