Big Bands Swingin Years: Don Redman

• Track Listing

American jazz musician, arranger, bandleader and composer Don Redman (uncle of saxophonist Dewey Redman), was musical prodigy who was proficient on all wind instruments ranging from trumpet to oboe as well as piano by the time he was 12 years old. Staring with the Fletcher Henderson orchestra in 1922, Redman became one of the central figures of big band swing music and one of the original innovators of the style. His arranging technique was highly sophisticated, and formed the basis of much big band jazz writing in the ensuing decades. Redman formed his own band in 1931 and during this decade released some of the best jazz arrangements of popular tunes ever committed to wax. Presented here is a collection of some of his finest recordings including "All Dressed Up And No Place to Go" and "How High the Moon." All selections newly remastered.