Red Callender

A busy studio room musician who made an appearance on a many recordings during his productive (and generally profitable) career, Crimson Callender may be the just player to carefully turn straight down offers to become listed on both Duke Ellington’s Orchestra as well as the Louis Armstrong All-Stars. After briefly freelancing in NY, Callender resolved in LA in 1936, debuting on record another 12 months with Louis Armstrong. In the first ’40s, he was within the Lester and Lee Small band, and formed his personal trio. Callender, within the 1940s, documented with Nat Ruler Cole, Erroll Garner, Charlie Parker, Wardell Grey, and Dexter Gordon, among numerous others, and can be observed and heard going for a bebop break on bass within the 1946 film New Orleans (that was likely to depict the city’s music picture of 1915). Over time spent leading a trio in Hawaii, Callender came back to LA, becoming among the 1st black musicians to operate regularly in the industry studios. On his 1954 Crown LP Speaks Low, Callender was among the first contemporary jazz tuba soloists, and he’d occasionally dual on that device in potential years. His structure “Primrose Street” became a high Ten strike in 1959 when documented by Billy Wallace. Keeping occupied until his loss of life, a number of the shows from the bassist’s later on career include documenting with Artwork Tatum (1955-1956), using Charles Mingus in the 1964 Monterey Jazz Festival, dealing with Wayne Newton’s avant-garde woodwind quintet (on tuba), and carrying out as a normal person in the Cheatham’s Nice Baby Blues Music group. Callender’s middle-’80s autobiography Unfinished Desire is quite useful and colorful.