Alto Saxophone, Flute | 1932-1981

Born Sylvester Kyner Jr. in Detroit on 17 December 1932, Sonny Red became an exceptional alto saxophonist associated with hard bop, known for one of the prettiest sounds on his instrument despite falling into obscurity by the late 1970s. Beginning professionally in Detroit as a teenager with Barry Harris in the late 1940s, he performed in legendary clubs including the Blue Bird Inn and Klein's Show Bar before graduating high school in 1952.

Red played with Art Blakey in 1954, spent three days with Billie Holiday, and recorded with Curtis Fuller in 1957. He gained wider attention on Two Altos (1957) with Art Pepper. Part of Detroit's exodus to New York in the late 1950s, he recorded his sole Blue Note album Out of the Blue (1959-1960) with Wynton Kelly, featuring bebop style rooted in Charlie Parker yet with a personal, vocal approach. He made two Jazzland albums in 1961, Breezing and The Mode, continuing through the 1960s with Donald Byrd, Grant Green, Blue Mitchell, and Cedar Walton. His music combined bebop and blues with simplicity and beauty. He died in Detroit on 20 March 1981, aged 48.