2/3/09

Dred Scott trio live at the Rockwood Music Hall


I met pianist Dred Scott when I moved back to the Bay Area from Boston in the early 90's . I co-led a quintet with saxophonist Kenny Brooks for several years. Dred was the pianist, Kenny Wollesen played drums and when he was available Larry Grenadier played bass. Dred had moved to Oakland from Akron with his trio, which he called Third Plane. This trio had something special. Their music, which was composed mostly by Dred, crossed stylistic boundaries and was truly electrifying. I became a huge Third Plane fan immediately. There aren't a lot of musicians that I know who I would consider to be true musical geniuses, but Dred would be one of them. One day Dred decided to pick up the drums. A few days later we were playing with Charlie Hunter on the street and just a few months after that he was playing in clubs, and sounding better than many drummers who had been playing for decades.

Dred moved to New York City several years ago seems to have really carved out his own niche there. He just released a live trio recording on the Ropadope label, but he also is offering free downloads of a full tune from the album.

this ain't no russian novel, baby

for more information about dred go to
dredscott.com
myspace.com/dred666


2 comments:

Matt Otto said...

This album is great, Ben Rubin sent me the link recently, good writing and playing. The group can really hold down a vibe... ;)

MonksDream said...

I just checked out his version of "The Wizard." Very ballsy to cover early Sabbath. I think this is off one of my favorites, their first album and he definitely stays true to the original.