The legendary saxophone player Houston Person is the featured performer when the Redd Brothers Quartet bring their stylish jazz to the Mainstay in Rock Hall, MD on Friday August 1 at 8:00 pm. Admission is $20.
Now in his seventh decade of performing, Houston Person last appeared at the Mainstay in 2008 as a member of the Statesmen of Jazz. He carves a hard groove with his tenor sax, a growling blues and soul style all his own. A veteran of more than 75 albums as a player and bandleader, he is one of the greats–“an eloquent messenger from a jazz era rooted in traditional blues, black church music, Broadway love songs and the impersonation, by sax, of a singer’s tone palette” (The Guardian)
Houston Person’s distinctive sassy sound and expressive playing have served him well artistically and commercially for decades including a long stint as house producer and session tenor saxophonist of choice for High Note. He was at the forefront of the “groove jazz” movement in the 60s and 70s, building his reputation as a leader with a series of soulful recordings for Prestige. His legendary partnership with the great vocalist, Etta Jones lasted over 30 years until her death in 2001.
Person’s recordings as leader include recordings on Prestige, Westbound, Mercury, Savoy, and Muse (which became High Note Records). His has countless appearances as sideman including recordings with Etta Jones, Lena Horne, Lou Rawls, Dakota Staton, Horace Silver, Charles Earland, Charles Brown, and many others. As a record producer, he has worked with many artists, including Etta Jones, Freddy Cole, Charles Brown, Buck Hill, Dakota Staton, and Ernie Andrews.
In 1990, his recording with Ron Carter, “Something in Common” (Muse), won the Independent Jazz Record of the Year Award, and he received an Indie Award for his recording, “Why Not?” (Muse). Other awards have included the prestigious Eubie Blake Jazz Award (1982) and the Fred Hampton Scholarship Fund Image Award (1993), and he was honored with a “Houston Person/Etta Jones Day” in Harford County, MD (1982) and in Washington, DC (1983). His High Note recordings as both tenor artist and producer, “My Buddy: Etta Jones Sings the Songs of Buddy Johnson” and “Etta Jones Sings Lady Day,” were Grammy finalists in the Best Jazz Vocal category in 1999 and 2000, respectively. His most recent recording “Nice ‘n’ Easy”, released last year, features Chuck Redd on vibes.
For this performance he will be featured with the Redd Brothers Quartet: Chuck Redd on vibes and drums and Robert Redd on piano and a bass player.
Chuck and Robert Redd are Mainstay favorites who have played music together since their teens. With a deep understanding of each other’s approach, they finish each other’s musical phrases and intuitively augment each other’s leads. Their most recent recording together is “When Redd is Blue.”
Chuck Redd is known internationally as a drummer and vibraphonist. He began recording and touring the globe when he joined the Charlie Byrd Trio at the age of 21 and was a member of the Great Guitars (Barney Kessel, Byrd and Herb Ellis.) To his credit are 25 European tours and six tours of Japan, with the Barney Kessel Trio, Ken Peplowski, Terry Gibbs and Conte Candoli. He served as Artist-In-Residence at The Smithsonian Jazz Café in Washington, DC from 2004-2008 and was featured vibraphonist with the Mel Torme All-Star Jazz Quintet from 1991 until 1996.
Some of Chuck Redd’s career highlights include a concert with the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet in Africa for the Namibian Independence Celebration, a recital at the White House with the Barney Kessel Trio, concerts at Carnegie Hall with Mel Torme’s Quintet, and an appearance on The Tonight Show. In 2008, he was a featured soloist in the finale concert at The Lionel Hampton International Jazz festival with The Lionel Hampton Big Band and the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. In February 2013, Chuck co-led the Dream Band with Jeff Hamilton in a salute to vibes legend Terry Gibbs.
Pianist Robert Redd was a member of the Keter Betts Trio for 13 years, until Betts’ death in 2005. The trio performed many concerts and festivals and could frequently be heard at venues such as the Kennedy Center and Blues Alley. They performed regularly throughout the school year at Wolf Trap as part of Early Learning Through the Arts, a program which Betts helped start and develop, presenting live music to young audiences. Robert has continued to work with this program as a member of the Wolf Trap Jazz Trio.
From 1995-1998, Robert was pianist and musical director for singer/songwriter Kenny Rankin. While touring with Rankin, he performed with Michael Moore, Oscar Castro-Neves, Roy McCurdy and John B. Williams, among others. They appeared regularly at venues in New York City such as The Rainbow and Stars and The Bottom Line, and performed in the guest artist series with the U.S. Air Force Band at DAR-Constitution Hall, in Washington, D.C.
Robert also worked with Charlie Byrd and can be heard on Charlie Byrd’s last recording, “For Louis”. He performs frequently with the Smithsonian Masterworks Organization, and is often featured at Blues Alley, where he co-leads a group with his brother, Chuck.
The Mainstay (Home of Musical Magic) is the friendly informal storefront performing arts center on Rock Hall’s old time Main Street. For information and reservations call the Mainstay at 410-639-9133. More information is also available at the Mainstay’s website https://www.mainstayrockhall.org.
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