Red callender biography

Biography.
George Sylvester "Red" Callender was an American string bass and tuba player.
George Sylvester “Red” Callender was born in Haynesville, VA and at age 3 his family moved to Atlantic City, NJ. He first studied alto sax, then tuba.

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Red Callender Vinyl Records & Discography

1. Who is Red Callender? A Brief Career Overview

Meet George Sylvester "Red" Callender, a groundbreaking jazz musician whose enchanting melodies and captivating rhythms have left an indelible mark on the music industry. Famed for his expertise as a string bass and tuba player, Red's contributions have not only shaped the sound of jazz but have also influenced pop and rock music, particularly through his work with the legendary The Wrecking Crew.

Red Callender's career is a vibrant tapestry of collaborations with iconic artists ranging from Louis Armstrong to Nat King Cole, and his innovation as one of the earliest modern jazz tuba soloists distinguishes him from his contemporaries. His commitment to music is beautifully intertwined with vinyl culture; his albums invite collectors to delve into the rich sounds of jazz on this timeless medium. Prepare to be mesmerized as we explore the dynamic life and music of Red Callender!

Red Callender's Early Life and Background

Born on March 6, 1916, in Haynesville, Virginia, Red

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Red Callender

Home » Jazz Musicians » Red Callender

George Sylvester “Red” Callender was born in Haynesville, VA and at age 3 his family moved to Atlantic City, NJ. He first studied alto sax, then tuba, and then bass. After graduation in 1932, he moved to New York City. A tour of Canada and the west coast with Blanche Thompson and the Brownskin Models brought him to Los Angeles in 1936, where he remained. He played with a few local bands, and did arranging and teaching. Charles Mingus was one of his first students. His first recording date was in 1937 with Louis Armstrong, “Sunny Side of the Street” and “Once in a While.” By 1956 he had recorded over 5,000 sides, acquiring the distinction of being the most recorded bass player in the L. A. Musicians Union. His composition, “Pastel,” recorded by Erroll Garner was a commercial success, as was his hit tune “Primrose Lane,” recorded by Jerry Wallace. Red was the second black to be hired in a TV studio band for “The Life of Riley” show. (Buddy Collette was the first.) His album, “Callender Speaks Low,” was the

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Red Callender: A Very Quiet Giant

The late music writer and producer, Stanley Dance, shared the opinion, common in the East, that “Los Angeles was a wasteland dominated by the bad taste of the movie industry.” In his Foreword to Unfinished Dream: The Musical World of Red Callender, Stanley Dance praises the bassist for “the extent to which [Callender’s book] expanded upon the rather scanty existing picture of jazz in Los Angeles.”

The picture of jazz in Los Angeles—to those who bothered to look for it—was anything but “scanty.” During the middle third of the 20th century—while jazz also flourished in New Orleans, Chicago, Harlem, Kansas City, and New York’s 52nd Street—Los Angeles’s Central Avenue as vibrant and important a center of jazz music as any of those other places.

Like the city that became his home, George “Red” Callender, for decades a mainstay on Central Avenue and the West Coast’s most-recorded bass and tuba player, performing alongside the brightest stars of jazz throughout his lengthy career, seems destined to remain a victim of the tired notion that geog