Born in Trenton, NJ but raised in Philadelphia, acoustic pianist Orrin Evans was among the "Young Lions" of straight-ahead jazz who emerged in the 1990s. His main focus is hard bop, although he has occasionally detoured into soul-jazz and R&B when backing such vocalists as Denise King and his wife, Dawn Warren. Influenced by McCoy Tyner, Horace Silver, Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, among others, Evans graduated from high school in the early 1990s and studied at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ before going on to study privately with Kenny Barron and…

With his seventh and latest Warner Bros. CD, Beyond, 31-year-old Joshua Redman offers further proof that he's dedicated to exploring new musical territory. "My career has been an adventure," he says. "But this album represents a new stage in the journey. It's definitely an extension of what I've done, but it's deeper, more patient, more mature, more personal than the other records." On Beyond, Redman unveils ten originals that are both compelling in their complexity (including odd time signatures and polymetric structures) and alluring in their unadorned beauty (from catchy grooves to indelible melodies).