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Thanks for tuning in!  At any given time I have several projects going – live performances, recording projects, tours, many different things.  I like playing both Hammond B3 organ (I bought mine in 1971 new and still travel with it) and Acoustic Piano (there are a few venues around my hometown of Austin and Ft Worth I play on occasion).  Check out my monthly Blog here to find out special events, special projects or other items of interest that I may be doing in your area or things you can check out on YouTube or watch and listen to otherwise.  I am all about music and playing music with my many friends around the planet…

Here’s the latest things I am doing…

LOCAL PERFORMANCES…

Around Austin there are several musicians I like playing with and some have specific names…  and we do regular gigs around Austin…

Ephraim Owens/trumpet and Brannen Temple/drums and Red/Hammond B3 organ have a trio called Black Red Black.  Ephraim has a special night called the Ephraim Owens Experience.  Same guys but Ephraim calls the tunes on Tuesday and Brannen calls them on Wednesdays.  Tuesday night at the Continental Club Gallery (upstairs from the Continental Club at 1315 S. Congress in Austin) starts around 10:30 and goes until 1:30.  no cover charge but we appreciate your tips…   Wednesday night at The Highball on S. Lamar in Austin starts around 10pm and goes until 12:30 or so.  No cover on that one either…  We have a CD/enhanced CD out with Black Red Black, available at Waterloo Records in Austin www.waterloorecords.com or online on iTunes….  Or you can pick one up at our performances…

On various Monday nights a month, I do the Monday Night Jam at the Elephant Room hosted by Mike Mordecai for the past 20 years.  I’ve been doing it for nearly 10.  It’s the place in Austin to meet all the good players in jazz (and we have quite a few) or those just arriving.  One reason I like to do it is to see who the new guys are…  check the calendar to see when I’ll be there.  When I’m not, Jeff Helmer alternates with me.  He’s the head of the Jazz Department at University of Texas for the past 25 years or so…

SPECIAL PERFORMANCES…

Saturday Nov 5th I’ll be at the Elephant Room from 9:30-1:30 with Black Red Black (Ephraim Owens/trumpet. Brannen Temple/drums, Red Young, Hammond B3) with special guest saxman extraordinaire Shelley Carrol on saxophone.  This will be Shelley’s first performance with us since we recorded our album in 2009.  Come on down!!

Sunday Nov 6th I’ll be at the Elephant Room from 9:30-1:30 with Black Red Black.  We will be recording live both Saturday and Sunday.  And starting in 2012, Black Red Black will be at the Elephant Room the 1st Sunday of every month.

Wednesday Nov 23rd Black Red Black will be doing a performance on Live In Studio 1A from KUT Austin 90.5 with Jay Trachtenberg from 2-3pm.  Tune in and catch us LIVE!!

Friday Nov 25th I’ll be at the Elephant Room from 9:30-1:30 with My Quartet (Mike Malone/sax, Daniel Durham/bass, Rob Kazanel/drums, Red/piano) with Silvie Rider on Vocals. In August, Silvie was sworn in as a Naturalized US Citizen!  Come out and Celebrate with us!  Songs she knew before coming to the USA, and many she has learned since coming here.

Saturday Nov 26th I’ll be back at Scat Jazz Lounge in Ft Worth with Ephraim Owens/trumpet and Dave Sierra/drums. We’ll be there from 9pm-1am.  Come on out Ft Worth!!

If you have a project or performance you’d like me or my group(s) to do, please contact me…

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Much of Red’s work today is done in the form of a “virtual session”. This eliminates the constraints of time and place. While a live,in-person session is still preferred at times, much of the work needed on recordings now is done as overdubs. With a full arsenal of keyboards: a real Hammond C3, Mason & Hamlin 7’ Grand Piano, keyboard, orchestral and brass sample library, and access to the best of Austin’s musicians playing brass, reeds and orchestral instruments, a virtual session with Red can save time and a great deal of money. Red’s experience in the studios of Los Angeles, Dallas, Austin, Houston and London, and his work with the best arrangers,
producers and engineers in the business over his 45 + year career brings a lot to the table and eliminates many of the pitfalls others have found themselves in.

How a virtual session works:

Send a sterio mix either mp3, WAV or AIF flie of the song or songs you want me to play on to my email address. If you have something specific in mind, let me know. I import the mix into my recording program in my computer (I use Digital Performer but can export to WAV, AIF or virtually any waveform you need). I record generally in 24bit, 44.1 but can record any format needed.

I will record several passes of piano, electric piano, Hammond organ or whatever my ear tells me will enhance the track. At that point I will send you back the mix of the song as I hear it. If you like what you hear, I will then send you all the tracks and alternate tracks I have recorded. I usually do 3 passes of each instrument (a basic instrument track, more busy and less busy).

If you need drums, percussion, bass or guitar, there are many world-class players here in Austin I work with. You would be surprised at the credits some of these guys and girls have. Just because we’re in Texas, don’t think we don’t tour the world in many different genres.

If more arranging is desired, I can do full arrangements (and have done quite a few orchestra, big band, small band and vocal arrangements for various artists). I do orchestral strings as an idea first (stereo mix) then if you like what I do, I will break the basic idea down to a traditional orchestra string section: violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello and bass and send you individual mixes of those sections with the recorded orchestral samples. Since it is an actual sound of various size orchestras, it really is like you’re in the orchestra.

In addition to strings, I have the rest of the orchestra: brass (french horns, trumpet, trombone, tuba), woodwinds (piccolo/flute/oboe/english horn/bassoon/clarinet/bass clarinet), percussion (bass drum, snares, cymbals, gongs, timpani, various percussion instrumets) and choirs. I also sing and have many vocalists I work with here in Austin myself.

This is a sample of a track and how the sound changes when I add a variety of keyboard instruments to a song: (coming soon)
Here is the same song with various orchestral parts added: (coming soon)

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The present…

Since January 2006, Red has been touring with ERIC BURDON throughout Europe, Canada, Australia and the United States. After two year run of DJANGO ON THE PARKWAY, Red got an offer from former employer and musical collaborator Eric Burdon who asked Red to rejoin him for his continuing world tours.Many TV appearances and sold-out concerts throughout the world gave Red another excuse to bring his music to the world. In addition, Red moved back to the fertile music scene of Austin, Tx., this time with a different world view of what direction he could go. Red has started AUSTIN JAZZ ARTISTS a collaboration of the rich heritage and ongoing creativity that thrives in this oasis in the middle of Texas.

In late 2003 Red became involved in a nightclub in Addison, Tx. called DJANGO ON THE PARKWAY. Starting with an initial steady Wednesday night engagement, it expanded to first working with Johnny Reno on occasional Thursdays, then becoming totally involved in the club in performance with bands such as Johnny Reno, Cold Blue Steel and Robert Lee Kobb, and Mike Morgan and the Crawl. In addition to his initial keyboard duties, he began doing sound, lights and total production in the club for the more than two year run. He not only performed with his own bands, Red and the Red Hots and Red Young & Friends (the Wednesday night band became known as with many touring artists sitting in on his nights there), he also put together a Stax era band called Red Young and the Soulmen, He performed with George Clinton and sat in with countless artists that played the club including Elvis T Busboy, Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets, Jimmy Sommers, and many others. It was an eye-opening experience on the ‘other side’ of the music business and many lessons learned and things experienced that many musicians do not see.

From L.A. to Austin

In 2002 Red relocated to Austin, Tx from Los Angeles and became a part of the musical scene there performing with STEPHEN BRUTON, did an album with pianist and vocalist MARCIA BALLas well as his own organ quartet at such places as the ELEPHANT ROOM and other venues. He also toursed with STEPHEN BRUTON, ADAM LEVY (guitarist with Norah Jones). MARCIA BALL and others around the country and the world. His first RED YOUNG TRIO album was released in March on the BLUES LEAF LABEL. He became involved in the tremedous Jazz scene in Austin and played with various artists 2002-2004.

In 2001 Red recorded on a new album by longtime friend STEPHEN BRUTON for New West Records and performs with him in his touring band. During 2001-2002 Red performed with blues guitarist KID RAMOS formerly with the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

Influence

Red Young was born in Fort Worth, Texas. Growing up with a classical background and listening to everyone from Van Cliburn (whom he met at age 11), Ray Charles, B.B. King, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Ft. Worth natives Delbert McClinton, Ray Sharpe, King Curtis, Freddy King and many other Texas Blues and Jazz Players. He accompanied vocalists, choirs, played in bands and in general grew up with a well-rounded musical education. Upon leaving high school, he first went to North Texas State in Denton, then on the road with trumpeter Clyde McCoy’s band (who recorded Sugar Blues in 1927 and worked thoughout the Big Band era), whom among other things alternated sets with the Supremes at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City and performed on the Johnny Carson show from New York. Since it was 1968, rather than get drafted, Red joined the Air Force Band where he was stationed first in Wichita Falls, Texas; then Ramstein, Germany; and finally Springfield, Massachusetts. In Springfield he learned a great deal about arranging for big band and horn sections and he formed a Chicago/Blood, Sweat & Tears group which played concerts all over New England and started playing the Hammond B3 Organ. Upon discharge in 1972, he stayed around the New England area traveling with an organ trio-Hammond B-3, drums & saxophone. On Monday nights he would venture to New York to see the famed Thad Jones-Mel Lewis band play at the Village Vanguard which further fueled his interest in Big Band music.

After spending a number of years away from Texas, when an opportunity arose to go back, he took it. This time it was a band formed to back up Lloyd Price (Personality, Stagger Lee, Lawdy Miss Claudy). The band toured for a few months and Red again returned to Texas. He joined two brothers to form a 5 piece jazz-fusion band called the Ham Brothers Band and got into the recording scene in Dallas and Ft. Worth. The band became successful on the local Dallas-Ft. Worth scene opening for such acts as Chick Corea, Brian Auger and Weather Report among others. Through this association Red became an integral part of the recording scene at Sugar Hill Studios in Houston run by producer Huey Meaux and recorded albums for Freddy Fender, Kinky Friedman, Noel Redding (bassist with Jimi Hendrix), and many other of Huey’s clients. Red did vocal & instumental arrangements on numerous albums as well as keyboard & vocal harmony duties.

Again Red felt the urge to move, this time getting a call to join Tompall Glaser’s Outlaw Band which included Mel Brown on guitar and Ben Keith on steel & dobro. His first tour was a package with Willie Nelson, Jesse Coulter, Waylon Jennings and of course Tompall. Willie and Waylon had a big hit with “Good Hearted Woman” so played to 20,000 people each night. After the tour, rather than move to Nashville, Red moved to Los Angeles and was enlisted in Sonny & Cher’s band (1977-78 tour including a TV special with Cher), then JOAN ARMATRADING (world tours 1977-79 which included 4 albums and a few TV shows), then his own jazz-fusion band (with Lon Price whom he toured with Armatrading and had met in Ft. Woth in 1964 and Lee Thornburg of Tower of Power and currently on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno), an album with Jerry Williams (1978), a tour, an album and a movie with DOLLY PARTON (1980-81), a tour and album with TANYA TUCKER (1981-Glen Campbell was along for a number of shows), a tour and a few television shows with ERIC BURDON (1982), and in 1983 he joined two girl singers which worked the clubs in Los Angeles called the “Stepsisters” and eventually became part of Linda Ronstadt & Nelson Riddle’s tour of 1983-84 (What’s New). Red did the vocal arrangements, played piano, sang and did horn arrangements for a section of the show which eventually became known as “Red and The Red Hots’. It became a favorite section of the show and started Red in a direction that he continues to this day. Of course during the 1977-84 period in Los Angeles he recorded not only numerous albums for many other artists but also TV and movie scores for many of the popular shows.

Swing, jazz and big band

After the end of the tour, Red returned again to Ft. Worth and formed his own band calling it “Red and the Red Hots” and continued in the Swing/jazz vocal style, utilizing 3 vocals (2 girls and Red) using rhythm section (acoustic bass and drums) and saxophone making the core unit a six member band and using a horn section on occasion (5 horns making it a ten member ensemble) and occasionally working with big band or orchestra (he learned a great deal from the amazing Nelson Riddle-a year and a half of touring and listening to great arrangements with an orchestra does wonders for the inspiration). Also while living in Texas from 1984-88 Red became a prominent member of the local recording scene, doing many commercials, several albums and a few movies as well. The Red Hots performed in many venues around the tri-state area (Texas-Oklahoma-Louisiana) playing concerts, nightclubs, private parties, big social events, and even played at the famous Peabody Hotel’s Skyway room for New Year’s Eve 1986 & 1987. During the 4 year period they performed more than 600 dates.

After a 1987 concert with the Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra, Red felt the need to go back to Los Angeles. On his return, he joined a tour with JUICE NEWTON, which turned into a 5 year commitment, all the while performing with the Red Hots in between times with Juice. He did many TV Shows, movies, albums and 2 albums with the Red Hots. In 1993 he took a commitment as musical director of the Moonlight Tango Cafe in Sherman Oaks with his trio which turned into a year and a half engagement. In 1994, he again began to perform more engagements with the Red Hots. Starting in June of 1995, the Red Hots added the 5 horn section on a permanent basis and became part of the Swing scene in Los Angeles at such places as The Derby, Disneyland, Twin Palms Restaurant, the El Rey Theatre, The Viper Room, The Rhino Room and many other venues. They recorded 4 albums (“Red & the Red Hots”-1987, “Red Hot Jazz”-1994, and “The Boogie Man”-1998 and “Gettin’ Around”-1999) all available through the website.

Red continues his career as arranger and performer with “Red and the Red Hots”, has his own 24 track studio in which he records not only his own projects but with his many friends throughout the industry, such as Joey Altruda (Cocktails with Joey), David Sommerville (The Diamonds, the Four Preps), Theresa James, Alexis Gershwin and many others. He also contributed arrangements and performs with many of his friends in the industry including BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY , ROYAL CROWN REVUE and others. (He worked with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on the TV show “Big Deal” on the Fox network and is also on the movie soundtrack for “Swingers” on the three songs with the band as well as one song with Joey Altruda on which he played organ). He recorded an album with fellow Texan JOHNNY RENO and played with Johnny on an upcoming album for Coolsville Records with a group of musicians including Scotty Morris on guitar (BBVD), Lee Rocker on bass (Stray Cats), recorded on Lee Rocker’s latest album, the new Warner Bros TV network theme with Royal Crown Revue and an offshoot band of Royal Crown Revue called the Jazz Jury which included Scott, Mando and James. Red also recorded with Royal Crown Revue on their recent album “Walk On Fire” and performed with them on selected dates throughout the summer of 1999 including a performance at the Hollywood Bowl with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in which he arranged their songs for the 80-member ensemble.

Hammond B3

IN 1999 Red again went back to his roots and started a band based around his Hammond B3 organ which he played in the late 1960′s through the 1970′s which became BROTHER RED. The personel was James Achor from Royal Crown Revue (guitar) and Kenny Sara from the Red Hots (drums). The trio performed quite a bit around Los Angeles area and did a tour of Texas in 2001 and several trips up the West Coast and SXSW in Austin in 2002. The album is available through the website or through CD BABY.

Notes:
*K – keyboards
V – vocals
A – arranger
P – producer
MD – musical director