"Whittlin'" is a Pat Metheny composition from Joshua Redman's 1993 album Wish, featuring Metheny on electric guitar alongside Charlie Haden on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. The tune is a minor blues in D at a lively tempo of around 249 beats per minute, and it becomes the setting for some of the album's most extended and adventurous improvisation. Redman leads off with a sprawling twelve-chorus tenor saxophone solo, one of the longest solo statements on the record. Over this extended stretch, he demonstrates his ability to sustain creative momentum, building arcs of tension and release across the blues form while maintaining a deep swing feel throughout. Metheny follows with eight choruses on electric guitar, bringing his own distinctive harmonic sensibility and fluid technique to the minor blues framework. Together, the two soloists account for twenty choruses of improvisation, making this one of the most substantial blowing vehicles on the album. The chemistry between Redman and Metheny is particularly evident here, as the energy of the first solo carries directly into the second. Haden and Higgins provide a responsive, driving foundation that evolves organically with each soloist's ideas. The track captures the essence of the Wish session: virtuosic musicians engaging in extended dialogue within a straightforward but fertile harmonic setting.
