NINETY-FIFTH SEASON
Friday, November 7, 2025, at 8:00
JOSHUA REDMAN QUARTET WITH
SPECIAL GUEST GABRIELLE CAVASSA
Joshua Redman Saxophones
Paul Cornish Piano
Philip Norris Bass
Nazir Ebo Drums
Gabrielle Cavassa Vocals
The program will be announced from the stage.
There will be no intermission.
Funding for educational programs during the 2025–26 Season of SCP Jazz has been generously provided by Dan J. Epstein, Judith Guitelman, and the Dan J. Epstein Family Foundation.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council.
Chicago Jazz, DownBeat magazine, and WDCB 90.9FM Jazz are Media Partners for this event.
Joshua Redman Saxophones
Joshua Redman’s name resonates deeply in the jazz world as both a gifted improviser and a profound thinker on the nature and meaning of music.
The son of legendary saxophonist Dewey Redman and dancer and librarian Renée Shedroff, Redman was steeped in music, movement, and the written word throughout his childhood. That influence is evident in the remarkable path he has carved, blending emotion and intellect into a sound and style that is unmistakably his own.
After graduating summa cum laude from Harvard University and deferring his acceptance to Yale Law School, Redman moved to New York City, immersing himself in the world of the arts. Gigging and recording with some of the greatest musicians of all time—Charlie Haden, Elvin Jones, Joe Lovano, McCoy Tyner, Clark Terry, and his father, Dewey Redman, to name just a few—he found himself at the epicenter of the city’s thriving jazz scene. It was there that a true calling began to emerge.
In 1991, shy and reluctant, but encouraged by friends, Redman entered and won the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Competition, widely regarded as the preeminent event of its kind. The industry quickly took notice.
In 1992 he signed with Warner Bros. Records and a year later released his eponymous debut album, earning him a Grammy nomination—the first of ten across a distinguished career.
Redman’s first quartet featured pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Brian Blade— some of the most influential musicians of their generation, who would go on to shape the future of the art form.
Throughout the 1990s, and well into the new century, Redman continued to refine his craft and expand his vision, releasing a string of acclaimed albums, including Wish, Moodswing, Spirit of the Moment, Freedom in the Groove, Elastic, Back East, Still Dreaming, and where are we
His apprenticeships and collaborations read like a who’s who of musical giants: Chick Corea, Stevie Wonder, the Rolling Stones, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, and Pat Metheny, among many others—a true testament to his versatility and wide respect among elders and peers alike.
Redman’s music has been featured in film and television, broadening his impact on the cultural landscape. Notably, he composed the original score for Louis Malle’s Vanya on 42nd Street, contributed to Clint Eastwood’s cinematic masterpiece Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and appeared in Ken Burns’s documentary series Jazz.
In 1997 he brought his love of jazz to a new generation when he was featured on the beloved children’s show Reading Rainbow and again, in 1999, when he voiced the character Uncle Josh on PBS’s Arthur alongside cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
With a career spanning over three decades, Joshua Redman remains a vital force in contemporary jazz, inviting listeners into a world where every note tells a story and every performance becomes a shared moment of human connection.
PHOTO BY JEN ROSENSTEIN
Paul Cornish Piano
Los Angeles–based pianist and composer Paul Cornish strives to inspire freedom and collaboration in his music and community. Hailing from Houston, where he was a student at the prestigious High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Cornish was one of seven jazz prodigies worldwide selected to be awarded a full fellowship to attend the esteemed Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz at UCLA. There, he completed his master’s degree, studied, and performed with renowned artists such as Herbie Hancock, Billy Childs, Robert Hurst, and Walter Smith III.
Cornish released his debut album with Blue Note Records, You’re Exaggerating, in August 2025. He was a finalist in the 2023 American Pianists Awards and the Herbie Hancock International Jazz Piano Competition. In 2021 he won first prize in the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition and received 18th Street Arts Center’s (Los Angeles) Make Jazz Fellowship. Cornish has performed extensively across the globe with notable artists, including Louis Cole, Mark Guiliana, HAIM, Snoh Aalegra, Terrace Martin, Kanye West, and many more.
Philip Norris Bass
Philip Norris currently resides in New York City, having recently graduated from the Juilliard School of Music with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in jazz studies. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he first began his path in music on the piano and french horn before developing his passion for bass at age thirteen. His collaborations encompass esteemed names such as Wynton Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Joshua Redman, David Sanborn, Veronica Swift, and, more recently, Emmet Cohen. In a continuum of artistic expression, Norris pursues his passion for music both in collaboration with celebrated peers and in his independent musical endeavors.
Nazir Ebo Drums
Nazir Ebo is a premier multi-instrumentalist from Philadelphia who has played with Christian McBride, Wynton Marsalis, Logan Richardson, Kenneth Whalum, and Bootsy Collins, to name a few. Born into a talented musical family, Ebo has been performing since he was nine years old, taking the stage as part of the Clef Club Youth Ensemble and Kimmel Center Creative Music Program. He now shares his gift with the next generation, teaching young players on
the quest toward greater mastery of the idiom and the development of their own musical voice.
Gabrielle Cavassa Vocals
A 2021 winner of the prestigious International Sarah Vaughan Jazz Vocal Competition, Cavassa garnered widespread attention through her work with saxophone giant Joshua Redman on his 2023 record where are we. She signed with Blue Note Records in 2024 and is expected to deliver her first album in spring 2026.
Born and raised in Escondido, California, Cavassa recalls “obsessively listening” to music from a young age and approaching the web of music and history through the amassing of a record collection she began as a teen. Largely self-taught, she developed a unique approach to singing that continues to
PHOTO BY ROEG COHEN
define her artistry. Cavassa received a bachelor’s degree in music history from San Francisco State University and, in 2017, moved to New Orleans, where she continued her education within the city’s rich music community. In 2020 Cavassa independently released her debut record, produced by collaborator Jamison Ross. The eponymous studio recording is her only solo project to date.
From 2021 to 2023, she toured internationally with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and joined the Joshua Redman Group for extensive worldwide touring following the release of where are we. Her unique sound and brilliant musicianship have made her a compelling leader and a sought-after collaborator and sideman—a rare duality for modern vocalists. Cavassa has worked with and learned from some of the finest musicians in the world, including Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton, Brian Blade, Jeff Parker, Aaron Parks, Joe Sanders, Larry Grenadier, Germaine Bazzle, and many more.
Funding for educational programs during the 2025–26 Season of SCP Jazz has been generously provided by Dan J. Epstein, Judith Guitelman, and the Dan J. Epstein Family Foundation.