Red Rodney, Before Charlie Parker

Before joining the Charlie Parker Quintet in late 1949, trumpeter Red Rodney (Robert Chudnick) had quite an illustrious and prolific career in big bands. Born in Philadelphia, Rodney turned pro at 15 and played in the horn section of major bands, from 1944 to 1949. [Photo above of Red Rodney]

Here's the list in order: Jimmy Dorsey, Elliot Lawrence, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Claude Thornhill, Benny Goodman and Woody Herman.

But sifted in between these big band live broadcasts was a series of small-group sessions. These let you to hear how crisply marvelous he was before he joined Parker and became "Albino Red." The moniker was used to position him as black, keeping him and the quintet safe during tours in the South when integrated groups were at risk. [Photo above of Charlie Parker and Red Rodney watching (in the reflection), Dizzy Gillespie (tp) with the Barbara Carroll Trio, featuring Carroll (p), Chuck Wayne (g) and Clyde Lombardi (b), at the Downbeat in New York in the late 1940s, by William P. Gottlieb]

An early bebopper, Rodney gave the big bands he was in a touch of modernist flavor, but it was his small-group recordings that stand out now along with his Parker recordings. Here are a bunch of tracks I've assembled. Rodney died in 1994 at age 66.

Here's Rodney with Charlie Ventura & His Sextet, featuring Red Rodney (tp), Willie Smith (as), Charlie Ventura (ts), Arnold Ross (p), Barney Kessel (g), Billy Hadnott (b) and Nick Fatool (d) on February 14, 1946...

Here's S'Wonderful from the same recording session...

Here's Charlie Ventura & His Sextet playing Slow Joe in mid-1946, with Red Rodney (tp), Charlie Kennedy (as), Charlie Ventura (ts), Teddy Napoleon (p), Allan Reuss (g), Red Callender (b) and Nick Fatool (d)...

Here's I'm in the Mood for Love from the same recording session...

Here's Rodney leading his Beboppers on Charge Account (based on the chord changes to All the Things You Are, with Dave Lambert and Buddy Stewart (vcl), acc by Red Rodney (tp), Al Haig (p), Curly Russell (b), Stan Levey (d) and Neal Hefti (arr) on November 23, 1946...

Here's Gussie G from the same recording serssion...

Here's A Cent and a Half from the same date...

Here's Red Rodney & His Beboppers playing Tiny Kahn's arrangement of All God's Chillun Got Rhythm on January 29, 1957, with Red Rodney (tp), Allen Eager (ts), Serge Chaloff (bar), Al Haig (p), Chubby Jackson (b), Tiny Kahn (d) (group photo, clockwise from left, Rodney, Eager, Kahn, Chaloff, Jackson and Haig)...

Here's Elevation arranged by Gerry Mulligan, from the same recording session...

Here's the Serge Chaloff Sextette playing Serge's Urge on March 6, 1947, with Red Rodney (tp), Earl Swope (tb), Serge Chaloff (bar), George Wallington (p), Curly Russell (b) and Tiny Kahn (d)...

Here's Pumpernickel from the same session...

Here's A Bar a Second...

Here's Kahn's arrangment of Gabardine and Serge...

Here's Serge Chaloff and the Herdsmen playing Shorty Rogers's Bopscotch on March 10, 1949, with Red Rodney (tp), Earl Swope (tb), Al Cohn (ts), Serge Chaloff (bar), Terry Gibbs (vib), Barbara Carroll (p), Oscar Pettiford (b), Denzil Best (d) and Shorty Rogers (arr)...

And here's Rodney's first studio session with Charlie Parker playing Blues for Alice, on August 8, 1951, with Red Rodney (tp), Charlie Parker (as), John Lewis (p), Ray Brown (b) and Kenny Clarke (d)...