Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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RODNEY, Red

(b Robert Roland Chudnick, 27 September 1927, Philadelphia PA; d 27 May 1994) Trumpet. Robert Ronald Chudnick was used for many years, and close family members called him Ronnie. At Mastbaum music school his classmates included John Coltrane and Buddy DeFranco; turning pro at 15, he worked for Jimmy Dorsey, other good white dance bands, then Georgie Auld, Claude Thornhill, Gene Krupa, Woody Herman, then had an offer from Charlie Parker. Rodney protested that there were more qualified people, 'And Bird said, ''Hey, let me be the judge of that. I want you...'' I was really frightened. I didn't think I belonged. And he made me feel like I belonged' (quoted in Ira Gitler's Swing To Bop '85). He became a drug addict against Parker's advice; with Parker '49-50 (as in Clint Eastwood's film Bird, Rodney was billed as 'Albino Red' for tours of the South), with Charlie Ventura '50-1, others; he led his own combos in Philadelphia. He recorded as Red Rodney's Be-Boppers on Mercury, EmArcy and Keynote '46-7; quintet LP The New Sounds '51 on Prestige; singles on OKeh '52 with vocalist Morton Perry; Modern Music From Chicago '55 on Fantasy (aka Encores) with Ira Sullivan; Signal sessions '56 with Sullivan were later on Savoy as Fiery; an LP on Cadet was made '58 in Philadelphia.

At this point he left jazz, as business was bad, narcotic cops were dogging him and rising black pride was resulting in Crow Jim: his place as one of the first bop trumpeters after Dizzy Gillespie was almost forgotten. He did well playing dance music and weddings in the late '50s in his home town, but sold the 'Red Rodney Orchestras' business and went to the West Coast. He played in Las Vegas, but supported his habit with criminal activities: never the sort of addict who would steal another guy's horn, he ripped off insurance companies, impersonated a USAF general and cashed forged paychecks on military bases: he stole classified papers and the embarrassed military dropped some of the charges to get them back. He served 27 months in prison; studied law and came second in class in three years instead of four but was not allowed to take the bar exam in California. Gene Lees' interview/essay 'The Nine Lives of Red Rodney' in his book Cats Of Any Color is recommended.

Rodney suffered a stroke early in the 1970s and recovered, but illness took all his money; realizing that the good earnings playing Mickey Mouse music hadn't been worth it, he had returned to jazz: nine albums '73-9 with superb lineups were all on Muse except three made in Europe on Spotlite, Storyville and Sonet. Still strung out, he ended up in Lexington, finally got straight, met the right woman, got his teeth fixed and was reunited with Ira Sullivan as co-leader for five wonderful albums '80-2, three on Muse and two on Elektra Musician. He discovered pianist Garry Dial and drummer Joey Baron, and helped them the way Bird had helped him; he toured '87 with James Morrison (b 11 November 1962, Boorowa, New South Wales; a multi-instrumentalist who popularizes jazz world-wide). Red Giant '88 on Steeplechase, No Turn On Red on Denon, Then And Now on Chesky were late Rodney albums.