James Farm to Play Vancouver Jazz Fest; Communication is Crucial

James Farm—the collaborative band featuring Joshua Redman, pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman, and drummer Eric Harland—performs at the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts tomorrow night as part of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival. In advance of the show, Redman spoke with Straight's Alexander Varty about the band, how it came to be, and what to expect from their music.

"Everybody in this band is a composer,” Redman tells Varty, “and all the decisions are made collectively. The sound of the band, the direction that each performance takes, the set list: they’re all determined equally by us as band members.”

He goes on to say: "It can be very easy to get lost in the formal elements of the music and to forget that, ultimately, these structures exist only as a means to an end ... And for the musicians in this band, the end is communication. It’s about trying to say something that’s creative and genuine and heartfelt—and, yes, intelligent."

Read the interview at straight.com.