Berkeley's Joshua Redman soars in Yoshi's homecoming (Contra Costa Times)

Bay Area native Joshua Redman played close to home when he and his Trio, featuring bassist Matt Penman and drummer Greg Hutchinson, performed songs from his latest albums Compass and Back East at Yohi's in Oakland on Thursday, the start of a four-night residency at the club.

"It seems passé to rave about Joshua Redman in 2009," writes Contra Costa Times' Jim Harrington in his review of the concert, with Redman having garnered so much acclaim so early in his career. "But all this time he's grown into something even better: a mature, confident artist whose body of work someday may stand with jazz's giants. As a capacity crowd witnessed during the early set Thursday at Yoshi's in Oakland, Redman never has sounded better."

Harrington goes on to describe Redman as "one of the smartest, savviest players in jazz, and that came across in an expertly paced show, with just the right mix of heroic improvisation and carefully enunciated melodies, and never lacking for momentum."

The evening's closer, the Compass track "Insomnomaniac," proved to be "an awesome roar, and it announced to all within earshot that Redman is a true king in the jazz jungle."

Read the complete review at contracostatimes.com.