Freddie Redd

Biography

Born in New York City, May 29, 1928, Freddie Redd has seen and made a lot of music. Although his recordings are sparse, his talent is immense, both as a composer and performer. While he was exposed to music early it wasn't until he was in the military, in 1946, that it was clear what he was going to do with his life. In his own words:

"...it just blew my mind! it was Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie playing SHAW' NUFF. Now I'd learned a little boogie woogie to fool around with – but when I heard that I thought 'This is something that I got to do.'" From that point on Freddie didn't waste anytime. After the military he went to New York City and got a firsthand account of the new jazz scene.

But a more significant outcome from New York, was the opportunity to record 3 albums on the Blue Note label, Music from The Connection, Shades of Redd, and a long unreleased third session. In addition it was during this time that Freddie played with many of the finest artists of the day including Art Blakey, Coleman Hawkins, Tina Brooks, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, Lou Donaldson, and many others. It was Mingus who brought him to the west coast, which is where he wrote the San Francisco Suite recorded on Riverside.

His most recent work is Freddie Redd and his International Jazz Connection featuring original music composed by the pianist and featured in the world's first "Jazz Video Album" in his own words. Released in 1998 the album is dedicated to Representative John Conyers, the democrat from Michigan who authored House Resolution 57 designating jazz as America's national treasure.

While there are not many recordings of Freddie Redd and he may be hard to catch up with, he keeps busy performing and composing. And thanks to a Mosaic release of all the Blue Note recordings in 1989, a resurgence of interest in his work has occurred. Of course if you ask Freddie, he'll tell you he's been here, making music, all the time.

 

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