JOSHUA REDMAN QUARTET

Music @ The Wallis is generously made possible by Terri and Jerry Kohl

We open the 2026/27 season with one of jazz’s most vital and respected voices. Widely regarded as the defining saxophonist of his generation, Joshua Redman returns to The Wallis with Words Fall Short, a new program that shifts away from the vocal collaborations of his previous album toward the expressive possibilities of instrumental storytelling. While the title may sound ironic, this is anything but a step backward. It is an organic next chapter: a set of previously unheard original compositions brought to life by a new quartet, featuring pianist Paul Cornish, bassist Philip Norris, and drummer Nazir Ebo, with special guest Skylar Tang, a Bay Area-born trumpeter and composer whose lyrical depth and striking originality have quickly established her as one of the most compelling emerging voices in jazz today.

There’s no better way to kick off the season than with an artist who has helped shape the sound of modern jazz for more than three decades. This is a season opener defined by interplay, invention, and the kind of electricity that only happens when master musicians walk onstage ready to surprise one another—and the audience with them.