Red Holloway Go Red Go!

Red Holloway

Go Red Go!

Delmark Records

Delmark has just issued the label’s debut recording by the veteran tenor saxophonist, Red Holloway, “Go Red Go!” A contemporary of Von Freeman and the late Johnny Griffin at Chicago’s fabled Du Sable High, he came up under the tutelage of Captain Walter Dyett who advised his students to practice outside to develop their sound. Particularly important influences on Holloway were Ben Webster and Sonny Stitt, leading to his big, rich tone and fleet agility which certainly did not inhibit his ability to straddle the blues and jazz worlds growing up. He played on some classic Chicago blues sessions as well as jazz dates. His career has run the gamut to backing Charles Brown in the studio in the late sixties (with Charles calling out Red by name on a choice tenor solo) to the 1989 “Locksmith Blues,” date for Concord co-led with Clark Terry. 

“Go Red Go!” finds him blowing with vitality backed by organist Chris Foreman and his trio (guitarist Henry Johnson and drummer Greg Rockingham). Its a buoyant swinging date opening with a lively “Love Walked In.” Legendary guitarist George Freeman takes over the chair for Holloway's late night blues, “I Like It Funky.” The title track is a retitled rendition of an Arnett Cobb sax sender as he takes off at rug-burning tempo, followed by the more romantic feeling of the standard “Deep Purple,” a prime vehicle to display his sensuous ballad playing with his vibrato evoking Webster. 

Holloway also provides his own take on “Stardust,” one of the ballads Webster was most associated with. Sonny Rollins classic calypso “St. Thomas,” is an unusual choice perhaps but Foreman’s solid unison playing and chording underneath his dancing solo adds to its charm and Johnson takes a nice solo here as well. There are strong interpretations of “Bags Groove,” and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s bossa nova classic, “Wave." Guitarist Freeman rejoins him for the delightful reworking of Roosevelt Sykes', “Keep Your Hands Off Yourself,” that closes this album as he enthusiastically delivers the vocal with Foreman anchoring the performance and getting greasy during his solo that precedes the solos by Holloway and Freeman. Holloway used to play with Sykes. 

Holloway may not be a great singer, but the entire performance is simply too much fun and ends a finger-snapping, toe-tapping recording of first-rate jazz for lovers of tenor sax and organ jazz. He ain’t getting older, he’s just aging marvelously.

I received this review copy from Delmark, but am uncertain whether this 2009 review was ever published. (Correction, It was published in the July 2009 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 318)). Here is Red Holloway from a decade singing and playing "Cleanhead Blues."  

60 Years of Delmark Jazz Celebrated.

Since Bob Koester founded Delmar Records in St. Louis in 1953, Delmark Records has issued many important jazz recordings and over the years has built a catalog ranging from traditional New Orleans and Chicago style jazz to the first albums by members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. It continues to produce new recordings that cover the entire range of jazz styles. Celebrating its 60 years, Delmark has issued a new compilation Delmark 60 Years Of Jazz that provides a small sampling of the jazz that is available on the label.

The twelve selections cannot convey the full range of jazz that Delmark has issued, but includes selections that range from the modernism of Josh Berman & His Gang reinventing the Austin Hill Gang twenties classic Sugar, as if it was an out-take from Eric Dolphy’s Out To Lunch, to The Fat Babies’ traditionalist revival of Fletcher Henderson’s The Stampede, from this ensemble’s most recent Delmark effort.

The earliest selection here is a 1952 rendition of the trad jazz warhorse, That’s a Plenty by St. Louis trumpeter Dewey Jackson and followed by a bouncy original by the marvelous flautist Nicole Mitchell. An early Lockjaw Davis rendition of Lover from a forthcoming “Honkers and Shouters - Volume 4” is followed by Ernest Dawkins’ straight ahead take on Coltrane’s tribute to Paul Chambers Mr. P.C., and Ira Sullivan backed by the Jim Holman Trio on Benny Golson's Along Came Betty.
 
Free bop can be heard on Rob Mazurek’s Spiral Mercury, Kahil El Zabar’s Ritual Trio on Crumb-Puck-U-Lent, with saxophonist Ari Brown and the late violinist Billy Bang, and Jason Adasiewicz’s vibes led trio on Bees. Other tracks include a strong Red Holloway track with organist Chris Foreman and the great Sonny Stitt tearing into Miles Davis’ Four with Don Patterson on organ and Billy Pierce on drums.

There is a nice balance of recent and older recordings and the more contemporary styled selections strike me as not being too far out and should be accessible to most listeners. For those familiar with Delmark’s blues recordings, this and other samplers may be a way to get introduced to the diverse offerings available.

I received a review copy from Delmark who have a companion sampler relating to Blues that I will post about in a few days. Here is Kahil El Zabar’s Ritual Trio featuring Billing Bang

Red Holloway Was a Hard Swinging Saxophonist

Delmark has just issued the label’s debut recording by the veteran tenor saxophonist, Red Holloway, Go Red Go! A contemporary of Von Freeman and the late Johnny Griffin at Chicago’s fabled Du Sable High, he came up under the tutelage of Captain Walter Dyett who advised his students to practice outside to develop their sound. Particularly important influences on Holloway were Ben Webster and Sonny Stitt, leading to his big, rich tone and fleet agility which certainly did not inhibit his ability to straddle the blues and jazz worlds growing up. He played on a number of classic Chicago blues sessions as well as jazz dates. His career has run the gamut to backing Charles Brown in the studio in the late sixties (with Charles calling out Red by name on a choice tenor solo) to the 1989 Locksmith Blues, recording for Concord that was co-led with Clark Terry.

Go Red Go! finds him blowing with vitality backed by organist Chris Foreman and his trio (guitarist Henry Johnson and drummer Greg Rockingham). Its a swinging buoyant date opening with a lively Love Walked In. Legendary guitarist George Freeman takes over the chair for Holloway's late night blues, I Like It Funky. The title track is a retitled rendition of an Arnett Cobb sax sender as he takes off at rugburning tempo, followed by the more romantic feeling of the standard Deep Purple, a prime vehicle to display his sensuous ballad playing with his vibrato evoking Webster with a fair amount of vibrato in his sound.

Holloway also provides his own take on Stardust, one of ballads Webster was most associated with. Sonny Rollins classic calypso St. Thomas, is an unusual choice perhaps but Foreman’s solid unison playing and chording underneath his dancing solo adds to its charm and Johnson takes a nice solo here as well. There are strong interpretations of Bags Groove, and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s bossa nova classic,“Wave. Guitarist Freeman rejoins him for the delightful reworking of blues legend’s Roosevelt Sykes’ Keep Your Hands Off Yourself, that closes this album as he enthusiastically delivers the vocal with Foreman anchoring the performance and getting greasy during his solo that precedes the solos by Holloway and Freeman. Holloway may not be a great singer, but the entire performance is simply too much fun and ends a finger snapping, toe tapping recording of first rate jazz for lovers of tenor sax and organ jazz. he ain’t getting older, he’s just aging marvelously.

Red Holloway passed away on February 25, 2012. He would have been 85 in May and he had a career that spanned several decades. This review originally appeared in the July 2009 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 318) and I received a review copy from Delmark. Here is some Red Holloway in performance. 

Jackie Ryan and the Night and the Music

Her new album, You and the Night and the Music (OpenArt Productions), served as my introduction to the artistry of San Francisco vocalist Jackie Ryan. A fascinating and often compelling voyage through the American songbook, Ryan impresses with faultless pitch, phrasing, and musicality. The anchor of her backing here is the trio of pianist Tamir Hendelman, bassist Christoph Luty and drummer Jeff Hamilton. They are joined on several of the selections by saxophonist Red Holloway, harpist Carol Robbins and guitarist Larry Koonse, with Robbins and Koonse each joining Ryan for a duet with her.

From the opening moments of You‘re So Nice to Come Home To, with Hendelman’s insistent piano and Holloway’s emphatic tenor to the lingering notes of the duet with guitarist Koonse, While We’re Young. She displays not only her broad vocal range, but, as importantly, her extensive, expressive range as she belts out the opening number or equally convinces on the marvelous, intimate duet with Robbins, You Are There. Her relaxed vocal on Ray Noble’s The Very Thought of You, is complemented by Holloway’s empathic tenor.

He mother was Mexican who sang to her Spanish folk tunes when she was growing up and she sings Besame Mucho in Spanish with her pleasing vocal complimented by Koonse’s striking acoustic guitar which Hendelman’s spare piano effectively complements. In addition to Ryan’s vocal and Holloway’s potent playing, bassist Luty has a strong solo playing with the bow on Let There Be Love. The Best is Yet to Come may be best known from Frank Sinatra’s classic recording, but Ryan, with her trio accompaniment, gives this classic a fresh take.

One would have to stretch to find anything to even quibble about on this truly excellent disc by a vocalist that so many have rightfully have taken notice of, and much more will be expected of in the future.

My review originally appeared in the November 2008 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 310). My review copy was provided by a publicist for the release. Here is Jackie singing The Very Thought of You with Tamir Henderson on piano and Red Holloway on tenor sax.