Don Redman

Donald Matthew Redman was born on July 29, 1900, in Piedmont, Mineral County, West Virginia. His father worked as a music teacher and his mother was a singer. Redman began playing trumpet at age three, joined his first band at six, and had achieved proficiency on all wind instruments — from trumpet to oboe — as well as piano by the time he was twelve. He pursued formal training at Storer College in Harpers Ferry and at the Boston Conservatory before moving to New York City, where he joined Billy Page's Broadway Syncopaters. He was the uncle of saxophonist Dewey Redman, and by extension the great-uncle of saxophonist Joshua Redman and trumpeter Carlos Redman.

Redman joined the Fletcher Henderson orchestra in 1923, primarily on clarinet and saxophones, and began developing the arranging techniques that would help define the swing era. His approach involved setting written solos against band harmonies, trading figures between brass and reed sections in a call-and-response pattern, and distributing melodic material across different orchestral sections and soloists. In 1927, Jean Goldkette recruited Redman to serve as musical director and leader of McKinney's Cotton Pickers, where he arranged more than half of the band's music, sharing those duties with John Nesbitt through 1931.

Redman formed his own orchestra in 1931, establishing a residency at Connie's Inn in Manhattan. He signed with Brunswick Records and conducted a series of radio broadcasts. The band also contributed music to the Betty Boop animated short I Heard, produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount, for which Redman composed original music; the film was released on September 1, 1933. That same year, the orchestra appeared in a Vitaphone short film for Warner Bros. Vocalist Harlan Lattimore provided approximately half the vocals during the Brunswick period, while Redman himself occasionally sang, as heard on tracks such as "Doin' What I Please" and "I Gotcha." After recording for Brunswick through 1934, Redman cut sides for ARC in 1936 and in 1937 recorded swing re-arrangements of classic pop tunes for the Variety label, employing a vocal ensemble he called the Swing Choir. He signed with Bluebird in 1938 and recorded with that label until disbanding the orchestra in 1940.

Following the dissolution of his band, Redman concentrated on freelance arranging. His work produced hits for Jimmy Dorsey, Count Basie, and Harry James. In 1946 he traveled to Europe leading an all-star ensemble that included Don Byas, Tyree Glenn, and Billy Taylor. He appeared on the CBS Television program Uptown Jubilee during the 1949 season, and in the 1950s served as music director for singer Pearl Bailey. His Broadway credit dates to 1954, when he appeared in House of Flowers. In the early 1960s he played piano for the Georgia Minstrels Concert and performed soprano saxophone with Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle's band.

Redman died in New York City on November 30, 1964, at the age of 64. On May 6, 2009, he was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.