Freddie Redd - Performing All His Hits! (Remastered) (2021)

A classic bop pianist and a composer of haunting melodies, Freddie Redd had an episodic career, with high points followed by periods in which he maintained a low profile. After a few years in the Army (1946 to 1949), Redd worked with drummer Johnny Mills and then in New York played with Tiny Grimes (with whom he recorded), Cootie Williams, Oscar Pettiford, and the Jive Bombers. Redd, who appeared with both jazz and early R&B groups, recorded his debut as a leader for Prestige in 1955 (reissued in the OJC series), appeared on dates led by Gene Ammons and Art Farmer, and toured Sweden in 1956 with Ernestine Anderson and Rolf Ericson, cutting an obscure trio set in Sweden for the Metronome label. When he returned to the U.S., Redd settled in San Francisco for a time, where he worked as the house pianist at Bop City and recorded for Riverside. He found his greatest fame when he wrote the music for the play The Connection. He acted and played in the landmark show in New York, London, and Paris, was in the film, and recorded the music for Blue Note, the first of his three sessions for the label (all of which were reissued in a Mosaic limited-edition box set containing either two CDs or three LPs). Unfortunately, there were no encore writing assignments, and Redd soon moved to Europe, where he performed regularly. In 1974 he moved to Los Angeles, and continued to perform and record, releasing the LPs Interplay (1977), Uptown (1985), Triloka (1988), and Milestone (1990). His recoding career stretched well into the 21st century. He released a pair for albums for SteepleChase in 2015 (Music for You) and 2016 (With Due Respect). Freddie Redd died on March 17, 2021; he was 92 years old. ~ Scott Yanow