1969 - 1990 – A Journey Begins

  • Born in Berkeley, California (1969). Raised by mother Renée Shedroff, a dancer and librarian

  • Begins playing the saxophone (1979)

  • Attends Berkeley High School (1983 - 1986), playing tenor saxophone with the award-winning Berkeley High Jazz Ensemble

  • Leaves for college in Boston (1987 - 1991)

1991 – A Turning Point

  • Graduates summa cum laude from Harvard University; defers acceptance to Yale Law School to pursue music

  • Moves to New York City

  • Takes 1st Place in the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Competition

1992 – A New Path

  • Tours and records with jazz luminaries of the day, including Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Paul Motian, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Clark Terry, Milt Jakcson, Roy Hargrove, Pat Metheny, and father Dewey Redman

  • Signs with Warner Bros. Records

1993–1996 – Rising Star

  • Releases eponymous debut album, Joshua Redman (1993)

  • Releases Wish (1993), with Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins

  • Forms the Joshua Redman Quartet, with Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride and Brian Blade (1993 - 1994)

  • The Joshua Redman Quartet releases MoodSwing (1994)

  • Composes original score for Louis Malle’s Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)

  • Releases Spirit of the Moment (Live at the Village Vanguard) (1995)

1996–2000 – Expanding Horizons

  • Appears in Robert Altman’s film Kansas City (1996)

  • Tours and records with Chick Corea’s Remembering Bud Powell band, featuring Roy Haynes, Wallace Rooney, Kenny Garrett and Christian McBride (1996 - 1997)

  • Releases Freedom in the Groove (1996) and Timeless Tales (For Changing Times) (1998).

  • Contributes to the soundtrack of Clint Eastwood’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), and later Space Cowboys (2000)

  • Featured on the TV show Reading Rainbow (1997)

  • Appears in the film Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)

  • Voices the character Uncle Josh on PBS’s Arthur, alongside cellist Yo-Yo Ma (1999)

2000–2002 – Innovation and Collaboration

  • Releases Beyond (2000), with a new Quartet featuring Aaron Goldberg, Reuben Rogers and Gregory Hutchinson

  • Releases Passage of Time (2001), a continuous suite of original compositions

  • Begins workshopping new music with Sam Yahel and Brian Blade, leading to the release of yaya3 (2002), the formation of the Joshua Redman Elastic Band, and the release of Elastic (2002), his first album featuring electric instruments

2000 - 2007 – A Return Home

  • Serves as Artistic Director of SFJAZZ Spring Season (2000 - 2007)

  • Founds and serves as Musical Director of the SFJAZZ Collective (2004 - 2007)

2004–2009 – Eclectic Excursions

  • Signs with Nonesuch Records (2004)

  • Releases 2nd Elastic Band album Momentum (2005), featuring a wide array of very special musical guests (Meshell Ndegeocello, Questlove, Flea, Nicholas Payton, Jeff Parker, Eric Krasno, Peter Bernstein and Stefon Harris)

  • Begins working regularly in the pianoless Trio format (2004), leading to the release  of Back East (2007), an album featuring 3 bass/drum tandems (Larry Grenadier & Ali Jackson, Reuben Rogers & Eric Harland, and Christian McBride & Brain Blade), as well as 3 special-guest saxophonists (Joe Lovano, Chris Cheek and Dewey Redman)

  • Releases Compass (2009), an ambitious album of music in the “double trio” format (2 bassists & 2 drummers)

2011–2018 – Continuing Collaborations

  • Forms James Farm, with Aaron Parks, Matt Penman, and Eric Harland, releasing their self-titled debut (2011)

  • Partners with Brad Mehldau, recording on Brad’s seminal album Highway Rider (2010), as they begin to work extensively together in the Duo format

  • Releases Walking Shadows (2013), an album of ballads with strings, produced by Brad Mehldau

  • Releases 2nd James Farm album, City Folk (2014)

  • Releases Nearness (2016), a live duo album with Brad Mehldau

  • Collaborates with The Bad Plus (Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson & David King), releasing The Bad Plus Joshua Redman (2016)

  • Forms Still Dreaming (2016) with Ron Miles, Scott Colley and Brian Blade — a band celebrating the music and spirit of the seminal Ornette Coleman “alumni” quartet Old And New Dreams (Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell)

  • Releases the album Still Dreaming (2018)

2018–2022 – Reunion and Reflection

  • Reforms the Joshua Redman Quartet, with Goldberg, Rogers and Hutchinson, releasing  Come What May (2019)

  • Reunites with Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride and Brian Blade for RoundAgain (2020), their first recording together since 1994’s MoodSwing

  • Redman Mehldau McBride Blade release LongGone (2022)

2019…. – Ongoing Education

  • Begins teaching at Stanford University as a Visiting Artist (2019). Appointed Artist-in-Residence (2025)

  • Artistic Director of RJAM at San Francisco Conservatory of Music (2020 - 2024)

2022…. The Journey Continues

  • Signs with Blue Note Records (2022)

  • Releases where are we (2023), featuring vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa

  • Releases latest album Words Fall Short (2025), with a new Quartet featuring leading lights of the next generation (Paul Cornish, Philip Norris and Nazir Ebo), and with guest appearances by Melissa Aldana, Skyler Tang and Gabrielle Cavassa