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Red Callender

George Sylvester “Red” Callender was born in Haynesville, VA and at age 3 his family moved to Atlantic City, NJ. He first studied alto sax, then tuba, and then bass. After graduation in 1932, he moved to New York City. A tour of Canada and the west coast with Blanche Thompson and the Brownskin Models brought him to Los Angeles in 1936, where he remained. He played with a few local bands, and did arranging and teaching. Charles Mingus was one of his first students. His first recording date was in 1937 with Louis Armstrong, “Sunny Side of the Street” and “Once in a While.” By 1956 he had recorded over 5,000 sides, acquiring the distinction of being the most recorded bass player in the L. A. Musicians Union. His composition, “Pastel,” recorded by Erroll Garner was a commercial success, as was his hit tune “Primrose Lane,” recorded by Jerry Wallace. Red was the second black to be hired in a TV studio band for “The Life of Riley” show. (Buddy Collette was the first.) His album, “Callender Speaks Low,” was the first to feature tuba as a solo jazz instrument. Red played on many of the most popular TV shows, as well as many movie soundtracks. It would be easier to list those musicians with whom he did not play or record. Red continued to be very active, arranging, teaching, composing, touring, club dates and recording until shortly before his death.

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17
Extended Analysis

The Complete Louis Armstrong Columbia & RCA Victor Studio Sessions 1946-66

Read "The Complete Louis Armstrong Columbia & RCA Victor Studio Sessions 1946-66" reviewed by Skip Heller


Louis Armstrong officially returned to small band leadership May 17, 1947 via a triumphant concert at Town Hall that was less comeback than reaffirmation. It was even the dawn of his second great period, full of recordings that stood tall with his epochal 1920's output, and the subsequently-assembled Louis Armstrong and his All Stars would immediately establish themselves as a staple of the live jazz circuit as well as a powerhouse recording unit. That era--to the purposes of ...

10
Album Review

Charlie Parker: Birth Of Bebop - Celebrating Bird At 100

Read "Birth Of Bebop - Celebrating Bird At 100" reviewed by Mark Corroto


Let's face it, there is absolutely nothing new to say about the music of Charlie Parker, unless (insert joke here) you happen to be Phil Schaap. Lao Tzu's quote “The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long" is fitting. John Coltrane was 40 when he died in 1967, Eric Dolphy 36 in 1964, and Clifford Brown died at 25 in 1956. Parker was dead at the age of thirty-five in 1955. His legend has grown larger with ...

32
Album Review

Horace Tapscott with the Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra: Ancestral Echoes – The Covina Sessions, 1976

Read "Ancestral Echoes – The Covina Sessions, 1976" reviewed by Karl Ackermann


When pianist/composer/conductor Horace Tapscott founded the Pan Afrikan People's Arkestra (PAPA) in 1961, it was by design a support collective for all arts, bringing pride to the black community, specifically that of South-Central Los Angeles. PAPA signified social activism, teaching empowerment, and advocating Tapscott's belief that channeling African ancestral roots was a key to succeeding. Tapscott, who died in 1999, had forsaken wider recognition to bring music and teaching to his community, but his catalog has seen a revived interest ...

124
Album Review

Cal Tjader: Plays Harold Arlen and West Side Story

Read "Plays Harold Arlen and West Side Story" reviewed by David Rickert


Like the recently reissued Our Blues, this double CD presents Cal Tjader before he seriously delved into the Latin tunes that made his name in jazz circles. Unlike the previous album, which presented the vibraphonist as a serious improviser, Tjader is content to let the songs take the center stage; about three-fourths of this CD features a string section in the background. The strategy works well. Tjader cuts loose on a few Arlen standards before settling into melodic passages on ...

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314

Music Industry

Red Callender's Gentle Swing

Red Callender's Gentle Swing

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

The 1940s and 1950s were frightening decades for bass players. In addition to big-band timekeepers like Jimmy Blanton, Don Bagley, Chubby Jackson and Ray Brown, there were thumping small-group upright masters like Slam Stewart, Curly Russell, Milt Hinton and Tommy Potter. And if that crowd wasn't daunting enough, you had the Big Three solo specialists: Oscar Pettiford, Charles Mingus and Paul Chambers. Lost today among these towering talents is George “Red" Callender. Primarily a West Coast bassist, Callender was a ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Complete Louis...

Mosaic Records
2021

buy

Ancestral Echoes –...

Dark Tree Records
2020

buy

Birth Of Bebop -...

Ezz-thetics
2020

buy

Plays Harold Arlen...

Fantasy Jazz
2002

buy

The Lowest

Continuum Records
1958

buy

Callender Speaks Low

Continuum Records
1957

buy

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