Jazz Articles

Red Holloway Quartet: San Diego, February 8, 2011

by Robert Bush
February 24, 2011

Red Holloway Quartet with Plas JohnsonSaville Theater, San Diego City CollegeSan Diego, CAFebruary 8, 2011 Red Holloway has “been there and done that" when it comes to jazz standards and all forms of the blues. While normally his specialties are both playing the tenor saxophone and belting out blues vocals, a recent fall had left him with an injured left hand. But no worries--he just placed a call to his long time friend, Plas ...

Red Holloway: Go Red Go!

by Nic Jones
May 6, 2009

For disingenuous reasons Go Red Go! is a good companion for Cy Touff and Sandy Mosse's Tickle Toe which Delmark reissued in 2008. Both albums offer up straight-ahead mainstream jazz of the most worthwhile order performed by men who know the territory inside out. The crucial difference between the two is that while Touff and Mosse worked a neo-swing seam, Red Holloway and friends offer up soul-jazz of a kind that doesn't denigrate the term. Regardless of such differences both ...

Red Holloway: Go Red Go!

by John Barron
March 20, 2009

Like fine wine, saxophonist extraordinaire Red Holloway seems to get better with age. On Go Red Go!, the octogenarian plays with a fiery intensity that rivals his classic recordings from the 1960s with organist Jack McDuff.

Holloway has always straddled the fence between jazz and blues, having worked with the likes of saxophonist Sonny Stitt and organist Jack McDuff, as well as blues legends Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon. This infectious approach is demonstrated here on 12-bar riff tunes like ...

Red Holloway: Coast to Coast

by Andrew Rowan
November 27, 2004

Two-tenor groups are not new to jazz. They have been a little stream in the music's progression, from pairings like Lester Young and Herschel Evans in the seminal '30s Basie band to small groups like the popular one once led by Johnny Griffin and Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis, tenors have mixed it up on stage and, of course, in recordings. Kudos to producer Bob Porter for pairing Los Angeles legend Red Holloway with everyone's perennial favorite, Frank Wess. The ...

Red Holloway: Coast to Coast

by Derek Taylor
October 19, 2003

With all the accolades and attention paid to acts like Soulive and Medeski, Martin and Wood, the true progenitors of their music often get lost in the shuffle. Milestone has been righting such wrongs for years by signing evergreen Soul Jazz talent to its ranks. This new entry by Red Holloway serves as the latest notice that the venerable voices of the idiom are still alive and kicking.

Holloway, who first gained acclaim as a member of ...

Red Holloway: Coast to Coast

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
October 11, 2003

My, my, my. It's impossible to stay in a bad mood listening to this new CD: five seasoned swingmeisters and a bag full of up-tempo blues. “Coast to Coast" achieves that perfect paradox: music that's tight and relaxed at the same time. It's a treat for tenor fans, with both the estimable Red Holloway and Frank Wess on the stand, and it's great to hear organist Dr. Lonnie Smith again, who remains one of the classiest practitioners of his instrument. ...

Red Holloway: In The Red

by Jim Santella
October 1, 1998

Growing up in Chicago, Red Holloway listened to Gene Ammons and Johnny Griffin while absorbing many of the world’s favorite jazz influences. At home working with a blues singer or a hard bop ensemble, the saxophonist has shared the stage with Jack McDuff, George Benson, B.B. King, Joe Williams, John Mayall, Ernestine Anderson, Etta James, and many more. Employing both tenor and alto on his latest album, Holloway is joined by pianist Norman Simmons, acoustic bassist Peter Washington, and drummer ...