Donald Matthew Redman was an American jazz musician, arranger, bandleader, and composer.
20 Facts About Don Redman
2.
Don Redman's father was a music teacher, his mother was a singer.
3.
Don Redman studied at Storer College in Harper's Ferry and at the Boston Conservatory, then joined Billy Page's Broadway Syncopaters in New York City.
4.
Don Redman was the uncle of saxophonist Dewey Redman, and thus great-uncle of saxophonist Joshua Redman and trumpeter Carlos Redman.
5.
In 1923, Don Redman joined the Fletcher Henderson orchestra, mostly playing clarinet and saxophones.
6.
Don Redman began writing arrangements, and Redman did much to formulate the sound that was to become swing.
7.
Don Redman played brass and reed sections off each other in a call-response pattern, having one section punctuate the figures of another, and moved the melody around different orchestral sections and soloists.
8.
In 1927, Jean Goldkette persuaded Don Redman to join McKinney's Cotton Pickers as their musical director and leader.
9.
Don Redman was responsible for their great success and arranged over half of their music.
10.
Don Redman formed his own band in 1931, gaining a residency at the Manhattan jazz club Connie's Inn.
11.
Don Redman signed with Brunswick Records and undertook a series of radio broadcasts.
12.
Don Redman composed original music for the short, which was released on September 1,1933.
13.
The Brunswick records Don Redman made between 1931 and 1934 were some of the most complex pre-swing hot jazz arrangements of popular tunes.
14.
Don Redman's band did not rely on just a driving rhythm or great soloists, but it had an overall level of arranging sophistication that was seldom heard by other bands of the period.
15.
Don Redman signed with Bluebird in 1938 and recorded with them until 1940, when he disbanded.
16.
When Don Redman disbanded his orchestra, he concentrated on freelance work writing arrangements.
17.
Don Redman traveled to Europe in 1946 leading an all-star band that included Don Byas, Tyree Glenn, and Billy Taylor.
18.
Don Redman appeared on Uptown Jubilee on the CBS Television network for the 1949 season.
19.
Don Redman died in New York City on November 30,1964, aged 64, from undisclosed causes.
20.
Don Redman was named a member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame on May 6,2009.