Saxophonist Joshua Redman was a dozen albums into his career when he made Compass, and it showed that he was very far from running out of ideas or settling into a predictable groove. The album features two bassists, Larry Grenadier and Gregory Hutchinson, and two drummers, Brian Blade and Reuben Rogers. Not everyone is heard all the time, though. In fact, the full quintet is only heard on five of the 13 tracks (“Identity Thief,” “Just Like You,” the Beethoven-inspired “Moonlight,” “March,” and “Little Ditty”). The opening “Uncharted” and the closing “Through The Valley” feature both bassists and one drummer each — Hutchinson first, Blade last. On “Faraway” and “Ghost,” the rhythm section is Grenadier/Blade; on “Hutchhiker’s Guide,” Grenadier/Hutchinson; on “Insomnomaniac,” Rogers/Hutchinson; and on “Un Peu Fou” and “Round Reuben,” Rogers/Blade. Redman is confident and exploratory throughout, always leading, and seeming to conduct the band with his horn. His solos are often romantic but verge on free blowing at times, without ever fully abandoning form. A must-hear for anyone who considers him a lightweight or ignorable.