Red Rodney

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Red Rodney, circa June 1946.
Photograph by William P. Gottlieb .
Serge Chaloff , Georgie Auld , Red Rodney, Tiny Kahn and others a., around August 1947.
Photo: Gottlieb

Red Rodney (* 27. September 1927 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , as Robert Roland Chudnick ; † 27. May 1994 in Boynton Beach , Florida ) was an American jazz trumpeter of bebop .

Live and act

Rodney became a professional musician at the age of 15 and worked first in the swing bands of Jimmy Dorsey and Benny Goodman , later with Gene Krupa , Claude Thornhill and in 1948/49 in the Woody Herman Band. He became known in the environment of the bebop revolution by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie ; he was probably the only white jazz trumpeter who played a significant part in it. With Parker he played such important titles as Blues For Alice , Si Si , Swedish Schnapps and Back Home Blues . He was a member of Charlie Parker's band in 1949 and 1950. During the tours of the Parker Band through the American southern states, Red had to pass as a (black) "red-haired albino" in order not to have any problems because of the strict racial segregation at that time. This is well illustrated in Clint Eastwood's 1988 film Bird .

Between 1950 and 1951 he played with Charlie Ventura , then with Oscar Pettiford . In addition to the demise of the bebop, Rodney had health and drug problems; He spent a large part of the 1950s in prison, disappeared for a long time from the jazz scene and worked as a musician in Las Vegas. In 1980 he returned with notable recordings: he made records with Ira Sullivan and Charles McPherson , later with Chris Potter , Dick Oatts and Gerry Dial . He remained musically active until the 1990s.

Discography

As a leader

Rich Matteson, Red Rodney, and Ira Sullivan
Keynote 78 by Dave Lambert & Buddy Stewart with Red Rodney's Be-Boppers: "A Cent and a Half" (1947)
  • 1951: First Sessions - Volume 3 ( Savoy Records )
  • 1952: Red Rodney Quintet - Modern Music from Chicago ( Fantasy Records )
  • 1957: Fiery ( Signal / Savoy) probably his masterpiece with Ira Sullivan, Tommy Flanagan , Oscar Pettiford and Philly Joe Jones .
  • 1959: Red Rodney Returns (Argo)
  • 1973: Bird Lives! (Muse)
  • 1973/1981: Bluebird (Muse / Camden) compilation of the Muse recordings from 1973 to 1981
  • 1974: Superbop (Muse)
  • 1975: The Red Tornado (Muse)
  • 1973: Red White and Blues (Muse)
  • 1979: Home Free (Muse)
  • 1980: Live at the Village Vanguard (Muse)
  • 1981: Night and Day (Muse)
  • 1982: The 3 R's (Muse)
  • 1986: Alive in New York (Muse)
  • 1986: No Turn On Red (Denon)
  • 1988: Red Giant (Steeplechase)
  • 1988: One For Bird (Steeplechase)
  • 1988: Red Snapper (Steeplechase)
  • 1992: Then And Now (Chesky)
  • 1993: The Tivoli Session (Steeplechase)

As a sideman (selection)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rodney, Red
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Chudnick, Robert Roland (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz trumpeter
DATE OF BIRTH September 27, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH May 27, 1994
Place of death Boynton Beach , Florida