Creed Taylor Produced

This post is a minor update of one written in 2020 to celebrate the 50th anniversary. Including below is a link to all the major streaming services version of “Red Clay”.

On this day in 1970, a group of preeminent jazz musicians and a young drummer assembled at Rudy Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, to record what would become a defining album for both jazz in the early 1970s and also for Creed Taylor’s newly independent CTI label: Freddie Hubbard’s “Red Clay.”

MUSICIANS

The musicians were Freddie Hubbard, trumpet; Joe Henderson, saxophone; Herbie Hancock, electric piano; Ron Carter, bass; Lenny White, drums.

RELEASE BACKGROUND

Released as CTI 6001, “Red Clay” wasn’t the first album on the newly independent CTI; it had been preceded by an eclectic collection of five albums. The four albums from artists that were primarily put together while Creed was wrapping up his work and recordings at A&M CTI and getting the legal side of the newly independent CTI set up.

Those albums included Hubert Laws’ “Crying Song” ^[1]http://ctproduced.com/crying-song-answers-will-likely-remain-unknown/, which would get a second release a year later as CTI 6000; Kathy McCord ^[2]http://ctproduced.com/ct-1000-the-popular-label/, whose brother was established and successful songwriter Billy Vera; jazz pianist and composer; Dave Frishberg ^[3]http://ctproduced.com/oklahoma-toad-dave-frishberg/, a friend of Creed’s then secretary/admin, Margo Guryan ^[4]http://ctproduced.com/margo-guryan-more-than-sunday-mornin/, a successful artist and songwriter in her own right and finally, Arthur “Fats” Theus ^[5]http://ctproduced.com/tag/fats-theus/ – “Black Out”. More on those later.

THE PRESSINGS

“Red Clay” was released in a number of vinyl pressings, which eventually settled down to be the CTI in-house look. You can find both single and gatefold covers. The first and early pressings feature the same green CTI label as the CT 50x series; the eventual and iconic gold/orange label became the house style. There are even copies with the gatefold clay inner design in red and others in gray. I have two vinyl pressings and a CD from the 2010 40th-anniversary set.

The album, as originally released, came in at just four tracks: “Red Clay,” “Dephia,” “Suite Sioux,” and “The Intrepid Fox.” Later re-issues and re-releases added either “Cold Turkey” (recorded during the same session), a live version of “Red Clay” recorded at the Southgate Palace on July 19, 1971. Some reissues contain both tracks.

LENNY’S BASS DRUM AND PRICE GIVENS

Other things of interest from “Red Clay”: the album cover photograph was by Price Givens Jr. rather than Pete Turner. Givens, now seemingly forgotten, took pictures for a number of jazz and CTI albums. Price also did Herbie Hancock’s “Treasure Chest” and “Pursuit of Blackness” by Joe Henderson.

Drummer Lenny White, who had only just turned 20 years old. He showed up to record with his drum set in his car. His bass drum was actually made from an old oil drum. White had used the drum on Miles Davis’s seminal “Bitches Brew” sessions a few months earlier.

Ron Carter didn’t want the (oil) drum used as it was “too resonant” and told Lenny to put the drum back in his trunk. Carter didn’t want to make “another 500 takes trying to get the right sound”. With that, White used a drum that Rudy Van Gelder had in storage instead.

55-years ago today!

LISTENING

READING

Discogs Master release for Red Clay
Doug Paynes Red Clay recording data.
Doug Paynes guide to the CTI 6000 Series
Jazz Times review of Red Clay and the sessions from 2010

UPDATES
Orginal version posted on 27th January, 2020.,
Minor rewrite and update on 27th January, 2025 for the 55th anniversary.
April 4th, 2026: Added TOC, changed headings