Album review: Joshua Redman, Walking Shadows (Nonesuch)

You can take sax star Redman tootling ballads to the accompaniment of strings in two ways.

For rearview-mirror watchers, he’s no Ben Webster, and “Lush Life” or “Easy Living” don’t live up to classic renditions. But if you look to the present, this is a very capable attempt to update that swoonable sound, and the arrangements (by, among others, Brad Mehldau, who also produces and plays piano) do offer a few contemporary touches. “Let it Be” is naff, though.