Dewey Redman Dead At 75

[Michael Russell]

Tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman died Sept. 2 in Brooklyn, NY at the age of 75. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Walter "Dewey" Redman had a distinctly bold and bluesy sound. Mr. Redman was more innovative than his son Joshua, and more accessible than his friend Ornette Coleman, yet he never received the acclaim he deserved. I particularly enjoyed Mr. Redman's work with Pat Metheney on Metheney's album "80/81".

For further information about Dewey Redman check out this interview from jazzine.com

http://www.jazzine.com/artists/dewey_redman.phtml

Edited September 12, 2006 by Michael Russell

[Robert Campbell]

Mick,

I had the good fortune to hear Dewey Redman live on two occasions--once with Ornette Coleman, Ed Blackwell, and a wild bassist named David Izenzon, then years later at a memorial service for a musician named Donald Raphael Garrett.

He played really well on the Pat Metheny album you mentioned.

I'd also recommend:

Ornette Coleman, New York Is Now, on Blue Note

Old and New Dreams (Don Cherry/Dewey Redman/Charlie Haden/Ed Blackwell), Playing, on ECM

Dewey Redman and Ed Blackwell, Red and Black in Willisau, on Black Saint [yes, a whole album of tenor sax and drums is worth hearing]

His albums as a leader tended to be spotty (though I think Impulse could make a nice "Best of" CD out of the work he did for that label).

Robert Campbell

[Michael Russell]

Robert,

Thanks for the suggestions. I have "New York Is Now" but I was unfamiliar with the other two recordings. Although I never had the opportunity to hear Dewey Redman live, Peri and I attended an Ornette Coleman concert at the San Francisco Jazz Festival in 1994. I am perhaps the only person ever to have fallen asleep at an Ornette Coleman show. That's a long and interesting story; maybe for another time.

Mick