Jazz Legend of 2022: Chuck Redd

CHUCK REDD: A Drummer’s Odyssey

Chuck Redd has a growing reputation as one of the top performers on the jazz circuit today and is equally adept on the drums and vibraphone.He had the good fortune to have been influenced, mentored, and to have performed with some of the true masters of his craft.

His parents were not musicians, but loved music, so Chuck and his brother heard a lot of music around the house. “Growing up in the 1960s, I always associated music with joy and fun, and after hearing Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, there wasn’t any question that I wanted to play the drums. I took lessons on the snare drum at age 10, played in school bands, and began to dabble on the vibes while in high school.”

It was while attending Montgomery Community College that he came under the tutelage of pianist/ composer/arranger Bill Potts. “Bill really taught me about music, and he took me on my first trip to New York City to hear some real jazz. I sat in with Al Cohn at the 1976 Manassas Jazz Festival when I was 18 as the youngest musician in that year’s lineup.”

Chuck free-lanced around the Washington, D.C. metro area, taking advantage of any and all opportunities to gain experience. His first big break came when he was 21, and he began touring the globe as one-third of the Charlie Byrd Trio. That led to joining up with the Great Guitars, a group that included Byrd, Barney Kessel, and Herb Ellis.

Chuck was featured vibraphonist with the Mel Torme All-Star Jazz Quintet from 1991 until 1996 which included two concerts at Carnegie Hall. While appearing in New York with Torme, Ira Gitler of Jazz Times said, “Redd’s vibes were equally notable for vigor and melodiousness.” Jazz Times praised Redd’s playing describing his vibes work as, “Exquisite! “ The Washington Post admired his “melodic sparkle”, For two consecutive years, Chuck was awarded “Best Vibist” in New York City’s Hot House Jazz Magazine 2015 and 2016 Fans’ Decision Award.

He has made over 25 European tours and six tours of Japan with artists such as Ken Peplowski, Terry Gibbs, Conte Candoli, and the Benny Goodman Tribute Orchestra. He performed at the White House with the Barney Kessel Trio, has appeared on The Tonight Show, and traveled to Africa with the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet to celebrate the Namibian Independence.

Gunther Schuller hired Redd to become a member of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, an assignment that lasted for 15 years. He is currently the Artistic Director of The Oregon Festival of American Music. Chuck served as artist-in-residence at the Smithsonian Jazz Café (2004-2008) and was the 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. He calls a 2007 appearance with the Milt Jackson Tribute Band “one of my greatest honors.”

Chuck was the 2013 Los Angeles Jazz Society’s Vibes Summit honoree, the 2014 honoree at The Roswell Jazz Festival, and 2019 Honored Musician at the Colorado Springs Jazz Party. In 2021, Chuck could be heard in concerts with Monty Alexander and The Harlem Kingston Express and has recently recorded with Ken Peplowski and John Pizzarelli.

Chuck acknowledges that he was profoundly influenced by drummers like Jake Hanna, Shelly Manne, Grady Tate, and Mel Lewis who, in his words, “had exquisite taste and technique and kept great time. Jake Hanna told me, ‘Taste is something you learn.’ The music comes first; the drumming is second. It is important to respect the melody and have the ability to swing.”

His recording of “When Redd is Blue” that included his younger brother, Robert (who is an established pianist in the D.C. area and a current member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and the Wolf Trap Jazz Trio), and featuring saxophonist Harry Allen, is just one of 85 recordings that feature Chuck’s musical talents.

His Arbors CD, “Happy All The Time”, is a critically acclaimed tribute to his mentor, Barney Kessel, and features Monty Alexander and Jeff Hamilton. He can also be heard on the soundtracks of “The Great Chefs” television series and the NPR broadcast of Jazz Smithsonian.

Chuck was on the faculty at The University of Maryland School of Music for 12 years and presented master classes, workshops, and lectures around the country. Asked what advice he gives young students, he tells them, “I believe the best approach is to identify the music and musicians who move you, do your best to imitate them, and then move deeper to a level where you play your own way. The greatest artists have always done this.”

In stating his view of jazz today, he observed, “The outlook is mixed, but I stay optimistic. Because of the Pandemic, there are fewer concerts and performing opportunities than before, but hopefully this may lead to a more intimate setting and a closer relationship between audience and performer. The bottom line is we want people to smile, tap their toes, and be moved. Musicians can achieve this as long as they are playing with sincerity and passion.”

The promo for an appearance at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center summed up Chuck’s career very succinctly, stating: “There are things you can always count on when Chuck Redd is performing: a top-notch band and “swinging takes” on timeless standards in the jazz, blues and American popular song idioms.”

Thanks to Lew Shaw and The Syncopated Times

SAN DIEGO JAZZ PARTY LEGENDS CHUCK REDD ACCOLADES While appearing in New York with Torme, Ira Gitler of Jazz Times said, “Redd’s vibes were equally notable for vigor and melodiousness.”

Jazz Times praised Redd’s playing describing his vibes work as, “Exquisite!“

The Washington Post admired his “melodic sparkle.” For two consecutive years, Chuck was awarded “Best Vibist” in New York City’s Hot House Jazz Magazine 2015 and 2016 Fans’ Decision award.

2005 Barney Kessel 2006 Joe Wilder 2007 Jeannie & Jimmy Cheatham 2008 Dick Hyman 2009 Ed Polcer 2010 Jake Hanna 2011 Bucky Pizzarelli 2012 Houston Person 2013 Johnny Varro 2014 Mundell Lowe 2015 Butch Miles 2016 Rebecca Kilgore 2017 Eddie Erikson 2018 Dan Barrett 2019 Eddie Metz Jr. 2020 Richard Simon 2022 Dave Cooper 2022 Dan Reid 2022 Chuck Redd