Saunders, Red (Theodore)
Saunders, Red (Theodore)
Saunders, Red (Theodore), jazz drummer, vibraphonist, timpanist, leader; b. Memphis, Term., March 2, 1912; d. Chicago, Ill., March 5, 1981. Saunders began playing drums while attending school in Milwaukee. He played locally and then moved to Chicago in the early 1930s. There he joined pianist Stomp King, and then worked with Tiny Parham at the Savoy Ballroom (c. 1934). In 1937, Saunders began leading his own band at the Club DeLisa, Chicago, for an 18-year residency. During this period, he also subbed with the Louis Armstrong All-Stars, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, and many others. Saunders led a band at the Regal, Chicago, from 1960 until 1967. He continued to play during the late 1960s, appearing with Art Hodes at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in 1968 and working with Little Brother Montgomery in 1969. Saunders continued to work through the 1970s, occasionally reviving his big band.
—John Chilton , Who’s Who of Jazz/Lewis Porter