Editing Don Redman (section)

==Biography==
Redman was born in [[Piedmont, West Virginia|Piedmont, Mineral County, West Virginia]], United States.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> His father was a music teacher, his mother was a singer. Beginning by playing the trumpet at the age of three, Redman joined his first band at the age of six and by the age of 12 was proficient on all wind instruments ranging from trumpet to oboe as well as piano.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> He studied at [[Storer College]] in [[Harper's Ferry]] and at the [[Boston Conservatory]], then joined Billy Page's Broadway Syncopaters in New York City. He was the uncle of saxophonist [[Dewey Redman]], and thus great-uncle of saxophonist [[Joshua Redman]] and trumpeter Carlos Redman.<ref>[http://www.jazzpolice.com/content/view/6299/2 Profile] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927011938/http://www.jazzpolice.com/content/view/6299/2 |date=September 27, 2007 }}, Jazzpolice.com; accessed July 25, 2015.</ref>

===Career===
In 1923, Redman joined the [[Fletcher Henderson]] orchestra, mostly playing [[clarinet]] and saxophones.<ref name="am">{{cite web|last1=Yanow|first1=Scott|title=Don Redman|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/don-redman-mn0000801026/biography|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=9 March 2011}}</ref>

He began writing arrangements, and Redman did much to formulate the sound that was to become [[Swing (genre)|swing]]. A trademark of Redman's arrangements was the band playing harmony under written solos. He played brass and reed sections off each other in a [[call-response]] pattern, having one section punctuate the figures of another, and moved the melody around different orchestral sections and soloists. His use of this technique was sophisticated, highly innovative, and formed the basis of much big band jazz writing in the following decades.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

In 1927, [[Jean Goldkette]] persuaded Redman to join [[McKinney's Cotton Pickers]] as their musical director and leader.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> He was responsible for their great success and arranged over half of their music (splitting the arranging duties with John Nesbitt through 1931).

===Don Redman and his Orchestra===
Redman formed his own band in 1931,<ref name="am"/> gaining a residency at the [[Manhattan]] jazz club [[Connie's Inn]]. Redman signed with [[Brunswick Records]] and undertook a series of radio broadcasts.  Redman and his Orchestra also provided music for the animated short ''[[I Heard (short film)|I Heard]]'', part of the [[Betty Boop]] series produced by [[Fleischer Studios]] and distributed by [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]. Redman composed original music for the short, which was released on September 1, 1933. The Brunswick records Redman made between 1931 and 1934 were some of the most complex pre-swing hot jazz arrangements of popular tunes. Redman's band did not rely on just a driving rhythm or great soloists, but it had an overall level of arranging sophistication that was seldom heard by other bands of the period.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} The popular vocalist, Harlan Lattimore, provided about half of the vocals during this period. Redman himself was occasionally featured as vocalist, displaying a humorous, recitation-like vocal style on numbers such as "Doin' What I Please" and "I Gotcha."

In 1933, his band made a [[Vitaphone]] short film for [[Warner Bros.]] (which is available as of 2006 on the DVD of the [[Busby Berkeley]] feature film ''[[Dames (film)|Dames]]''). Redman recorded for [[Brunswick Records|Brunswick]] through 1934. He then did a number of sides for ARC in 1936 (issued on their [[Vocalion Records|Vocalion]], [[Perfect Records|Perfect]], [[Melotone Records (US)|Melotone]], etc.) and in 1937, he pioneered a series of swing re-arrangements of old classic pop tunes for the Variety label. His use of a swinging vocal group (called "The Swing Choir") was very modern and quite unusual with Redman's sophisticated counterpoint melodies. He signed with [[Bluebird Records|Bluebird]] in 1938 and recorded with them until 1940, when he disbanded.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/>

When Redman disbanded his orchestra, he concentrated on freelance work writing arrangements.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> Some of his arrangements became hits for [[Jimmy Dorsey]], [[Count Basie]], and [[Harry James]].<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> He traveled to Europe in 1946 leading an all-star band that included [[Don Byas]], [[Tyree Glenn]], and [[Billy Taylor]]. He appeared on ''[[Uptown Jubilee]]'' on the [[CBS Television]] network for the 1949 season. In the 1950s, he was music director for singer [[Pearl Bailey]].<ref name="LarkinJazz"/>

In the early 1960s, he played piano for the Georgia Minstrels Concert and soprano sax with [[Eubie Blake]] and [[Noble Sissle]]'s band.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/redman-donald-matthew|title=Redman, Don(ald Matthew)|website=Encyclopedia.com|access-date=July 31, 2021}}</ref>