Redd, Freddie: Shades of Redd (Blue Note Classics) LP

The underrated hard bop pianist and composer Freddie Redd first gained a degree of prominence as the composer of the remarkable score for the acclaimed stage play The Connection, in which he also appeared as an actor playing the role of a jazz pianist. Redd’s 1960 Blue Note debut was a recording of The Music from The Connection and he would continue to display his compositional prowess on his next date, Shades of Redd, recorded later that year with a quintet featuring Jackie McLean on alto saxophone, Tina Brooks on tenor saxophone, Paul Chambers on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. A set of six Redd originals, the album begins with the dramatic opener “The Thespian,” which starts with a slow, brooding melody before breaking into a full gallop. Other highlights include the swaggering “Blues-Blues-Blues” and the twilit ballad “Shadows.”