By the time
African Venus was recorded in 1992,
Dewey Redman was combining the fire of his earlier playing with a gentler, melodic approach. On "Satin Doll," "Mr. Sandman," and "Take the 'A' Train,"
Redman glides along in a more traditional bop vein, while the title track and
Ornette Coleman's "Turnaround" sound more like the fiery
Redman of
Look for the Black Star or
Tarik. Joining
Redman on this date are
Charles Eubanks (piano),
Anthony Cox (bass),
Carl Allen (drums), Danny Sadownick (percussion), and
Joshua Redman (tenor saxophone), on three tracks. Not an essential disc, but far from a throwaway.