Rodney, Red

▪ 1995

      (ROBERT CHUDNICK), U.S. trumpeter and bandleader (b. Sept. 27, 1927, Philadelphia, Pa.—d. May 27, 1994, Boynton Beach, Fla.), was a brilliant jazz improviser who performed with the swing bands of Jimmy Dorsey, Gene Krupa, Woody Herman, and Benny Goodman before finding his niche as a member (1949-51) of Charlie Parker's bebop quintet. Rodney, distinguished by his flaming red hair, was also the first white bebop trumpeter. His innovative playing style was marked by his brilliant technique and purity of tone. After receiving his first trumpet as a bar mitzvah gift, Rodney adopted the romantic style of trumpeter Harry James before becoming obsessed with the emergence of bebop, a jazz style that relies heavily on complicated melodic and harmonic improvisations. By age 21, Rodney was a sensational player, and he was recruited by Parker to fill the seat vacated by Miles Davis. Rodney's heroin addiction, however, blighted the first half of his career. In the 1960s he played with bands in Las Vegas, Nev., and underwent drug rehabilitation. He also ran afoul of the law when he impersonated a general and stole $10,000 and some secret documents from the safe at an Atomic Energy Commission facility. While spending three years in prison, Rodney earned his law degree but was unable to practice because of his felony conviction. In 1980 Rodney formed a band with multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan. He took up the flügelhorn and returned to glory as a skilled ballad player, in demand worldwide.

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