Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Brian Blade and Christian McBride reunite as Moodswing at the Barbican

Monday night’s Barbican gig presented four musicians at the height of their powers playing with collaborative joy on the last night of a world tour. The evening was announced as the Moodswing Reunion Band, after the album the quartet released in 1994 under saxophonist Joshua Redman’s name. At the time, the acoustic jazz “renaissance” was at its peak and Redman, pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade were up-and-coming unknowns. Extensive touring put all four musicians firmly on the map, but the following year they split.

Now the influential foursome have reformed as an equal-partners band, and released two albums. This focused and fiery performance in a jam-packed Barbican hall found their themes trickier than first time round and their modernist technique stretched to the limit. But the blues-shaped turns and riffs remained, as did the soulful gospel slurs and shouts. Redman’s prowess and control on both tenor and soprano saxophones, extending well above his instruments’ normal range, was at times jaw-dropping. Christian McBride on double bass was equally commanding and raised the house repeatedly, once with a handful of twiddles decorating a surge of walking bass.

The single set was bookended by two compositions from Moodswing, the original release. The playfully blues-tinted “Mischief” opened the set and was introduced by Redman’s fingers snapping the beat. The theme was built on a firm and funky riff, Redman’s lines curling round the harmonic root while drummer Blade caressed the pulse with cymbals that hissed. The ebullient “Rejoice”, played as a second encore, bought the set to a close.

In between the bookending numbers, “Undertow” from the 2020 album RoundAgain arced from gloomily sonorous solo sax to collective blast; it began with Redman’s arpeggiated lines leaping across the range, morphed through walking bass swing and finished with a single dolorous note. The awkward theme of “Moe Honk” from RoundAgain launched quick-fire sax, driving cymbal play and dynamic snare drum thrusts. Nearing the end of this gripping band performance, “Your Part to Play” shimmered just above ballad tempo.

The set’s finale, “The Oneness of Two — In Three”, was a waltz. Mehldau probed harmonies and tugged soulfully at the beat and Redman’s final sustained note soared. The ovation was immediate, the encore, Mehldau’s “Sky Turning Grey”, moved from warm anticipation to the gently bittersweet. When the band returned for a second encore, they set off at a furious pace. The slinky theme of “Rejoice” unfolded in a single key, solos were taken to the edge and the rhythm section ebbed and flowed dynamically from within. More was demanded and the band were on song, but at over two hours, the evening was done.

★★★★★

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