Freddie Redd – Complete Blue Note Recordings (1989) [FLAC] {Mosaic MR3-124}
CD 1 tracks recorded Aug 13, 1960
CD 2 tracks recorded Jan 17, 1961
Recording Engineer Rudy Van Gelder
Digital transfers by Ron McMaster
Alto Saxophone Jackie McLean
Bass Michael Mattos (tracks: A1 to B3), Paul Chambers (3) (tracks: B4 to F3)
Drums Larry Ritchie (tracks: A1 to B3), Louis Hayes (tracks: B4 to D4), Sir John Godfrey (tracks: E1 to F3)
Piano Freddie Redd
Tenor Saxophone Tina Brooks (tracks: B4 to F3)
Trumpet Benny Bailey (tracks: E1 to F3)
Notes?
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on February 15, 1960 (A1 to B3), August 13, 1960 (B4 to D4) & January 17, 1961 (E1 to F3).
A file is included in the download with the track list and performers
The track list and performer page has both LP and CD information on it.
Apparently at this time in Mosaic’s existance they did not re print boxes for CD releases. This number is an LP number on the box, with the box fitted inside for the CD’s.
This set is OOP and no info remains on the Mosaic site.
Review by Scott Yanow, AMG 5 Stars and an Album Pick
Available in a box set as either three LPs or two CDs, this limited-edition release has all of the music recorded at pianist Freddie Redd’s three Blue Note sessions. In addition to the selections originally included on the LPs Music From the Connection and Shades of Redd, there is a completely unissued date that adds to the fairly slim Freddie Redd discography. Altoist Jackie McLean (who is on all three sets) and tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks (a key soloist on two) co-star with the pianist; trumpeter Benny Bailey is also heard from the later date. The music is comprised mostly of Redd’s originals (including seven songs written for the stage play The Connection) and fits into the style of the mainstream hard bop of the day, although with a few personal touches. Straight-ahead fans and Blue Note collectors can consider this set to be essential.
Biography by Scott Yanow, AMG
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.