Georgia is fortunate to be located between Texas and Virginia, because one of the great jazz musicians of our time has decided to stop in Athens between gigs.

During ongoing efforts to book jazz musician Branford Marsalis (saxophone), The Melting Point came across a rare opportunity.

“Branford’s agent also happens to represent Joshua Redman, and it just so happens that Redman was in the South,” said Troy Aubrey, booking agent for The Melting Point. “Atlanta happened to be a good hub between Texas and Virginia, and we happened to catch him when he had a date off between flights.”

While some of the saxophonist’s trademarks include groove-oriented styles, sampling popular music and collaborating with fellow jazz giants Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell, his most recent album, “Back East,” features his own personal zeal for jazz music.

“The new album is just saxophone, bass and drums,” Redman said. “It’s very stripped-down and basic and acoustic.”

Redman’s initial concept for “Back East” was to record many of his original compositions with the trio.

The project began to change, however, as Redman decided to lay a majority of the album with cover songs by some of his favorite artists, including John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter.

“I found myself discovering music from some of my heroes,” Redman said. “It all started with hearing some songs from Sonny Rollins’ ‘Way Out West’ album, and that kind of gave rise to doing some of my own versions of other great saxophone songs.”

The album’s success has little to do with Redman’s devotion to playing concerts.

“These days, I don’t see gigs as promoting albums,” Redman said. “A gig is an end in and of itself, and the great thing about jazz is that it’s about the moment – it’s all about live performances.”

The determination to book such internationally known jazz artists as Redman and Marsalis is another indication of The Melting Point’s efforts to expand the musical repertoire in Athens.

“The way I feel about it, there’s enough college rock stuff going on,” Aubrey said. “I know that’s always gonna be what Athens is known for, but we’re trying to think outside of the indie-rock scene and provide a place for people to see some pretty amazing acts.”

Among the venue’s plans is to start a weekly jazz series in hopes of bringing more local and regional jazz musicians to the scene.

“You can’t go into jazz music with the expectation or hope for success,” Redman said. “But I think if you’re really dedicated to the music and you’re really honest and sincere, eventually you will find opportunities.”