Freddie Redd

小簡介
Freddie Redd (1928~) 來自紐約，他是杰出的爵士鋼琴家與制作人，卻在音樂史上沒有獲得同等的尊敬和掌聲。雖然他的作品不多，卻無法掩蓋其豐富洋溢的才華。
生于音樂家庭，父親也是鋼琴家，不過在他還未滿一歲時便過世，母親一直在教堂詩歌班獻唱， Freddie Redd 在音樂上的學習幾乎是無師自通。
1946-49 年他成為美國軍人，在軍隊的期間，聽到 Charlie Parker 與 Dizzy Gillespie 一同演奏的歌曲 SHAW' NUFF，在驚為天人而深受影響下，他寫了這段話:"…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。"
可見在當時他便立下往后的生涯志向，退伍后與鼓手 Johnny Mills 工作了一段時間便搬到紐約和 Cootie Williams， Oscar Pettiford， Jive Bombers， Tiny Grimes一同表演 (并與 Tiny 一起錄音)， Freddie Redd 同時參與爵士與 R&B 樂團， 1955 年首次在 Prestige 旗下以個人為首發(fā)行專輯 Introducing the Freddie Redd Trio (后來在 OJC 系列重新發(fā)行)， 1956 年他與 Ernestine Anderson， Rolf Ericson展開瑞典巡回，在 Metronome 發(fā)行了一張黯然失色的專輯 Freddie Redd in Sweden。
回到美國后，他移居舊金山以鋼琴師自居，為爵士廠牌 Riverside 工作錄音， 1960 年 Freddie Redd 負責為 Jack Gelber 寫的一出舞臺劇 The Connection制作配樂，很快地開始聲名大噪，在紐約，倫敦與巴黎等一流的劇院里表演，由于這出劇的關系，他在 Blue Note 錄下這些音樂，收錄在一張名為 Music from The Connection 專輯里，因為這張專輯的關系，他登上個人音樂生涯的第一波高峰。
在 Blue Note 的這段期間他與許多優(yōu)秀的爵士樂手們一起表演，包括 Art Blakey， Coleman Hawkins， Tina Brooks， Sonny Rollins， Charles Mingus， Lou Donaldson 等， 因為這層關系， Freddie Redd 得到 Charlie Mingus 的幫忙，帶他到西岸開辟爵士疆土， 1957 年 10 月， Freddie Redd 如愿在 Riverside 旗下發(fā)行了 San Francisco Suite for Jazz Trio 這張專輯，并獲得很高的評價。
為了延續(xù) The Connection 的成功， Freddie Redd 很希望能繼續(xù)參與舞臺劇的寫作與演出，同年他在 Blue Note 發(fā)行另一張專輯 Shades Of Redd，這張專輯 Freddie Redd 包辦所有歌曲的編寫，以自己為首，搭配高音薩克斯風手 Tina Brooks，中音薩克斯風手 Jackie McLean，貝斯手 Paul Chambers 與鼓手 Louis Hayes，你可以在這張些歌曲里感受到濃烈的情愫與畫面，這張專輯獲得 all music 五星滿分的高評價，甚至還超過 Music from The Connection 的四顆半星。
可惜的是錄制完這張專輯后并沒有獲得 Blue Note 的續(xù)約， Freddie Redd 便失望的搬到歐洲，他在歐洲期間均有固定演出機會，不過卻一直默默無名，沒有建立起知名度。14年后他搬回美國洛杉磯，陸續(xù)在一些廠牌發(fā)行專輯，樂迷與樂評們對他的印象卻還停留在 The Connection，雖然如此，F(xiàn)reddie Redd 依然一本初衷的在音樂領域上持續(xù)自己的表演和創(chuàng)作。
by Scott Yanow
A classic bop pianist and a composer of haunting melodies, Freddie Redd has had an episodic career, with high points followed by periods in which he maintained a low profile. After a period in the Army (1946-49), 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 for a time in San Francisco, 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 on a Mosaic limited-edition box set as two-CD sets). Unfortunately, there were no encore writing assignments, and Redd soon moved to Europe, where he performed regularly but became quite obscure in the U.S. In 1974, he moved to Los Angeles, but despite worthy sessions for Interplay (1977), Uptown (1985), Triloka (1988) and Milestone (1990), Freddie Redd remains an underrated great, still playing in his prime without gaining much recognition.