Ed Reed
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Ed Reed

Richmond, California, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2013 | INDIE

Richmond, California, United States | INDIE
Established on Jan, 2013
Solo Jazz Singer/Songwriter

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"Editors' Picks"

BY FRANK ALKYER
The art of the tribute album is tricky at best: Stay too close to the original and you’ll send listeners back to that source material. Muck around too much and, well … you’ll send listeners back to the original. But vocalist Ed Reed knows how to find the sweet spot in a song and how to make it his own, as he proves on his latest recording, I’m A Shy Guy: A Tribute To The King Cole Trio & Their Music. The ever youthful, 84-year-old Reed sings this material as if he’s lived with it his whole life, which he has. These songs roll off his tongue with an understated grace and comfort. Here, we have Reed snuggling up to songs that Nat “King” Cole’s trio made famous in the 1940s. From the downbeat of “I Just Can’t See For Lookin’,” the record’s first tune, there’s no doubt that Reed has gentle yet firm command of this material. His voice is clear. His timing and intonation could be offered as a master class. And the band just slides into the groove of this classic trio with Randy Porter on piano, Jamie Fox on guitar and John Wiitala on bass. Tenor saxophonist Anton Schwartz joins the festivities on tunes like “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby” and “Meet Me At No Special Place.” The latter tune also features drummer Akira Tana, who appears on the title track, too, to give it extra punch. But my favorite moments on the record come when Reed and his voice are the absolute center of attention. You can almost imagine being in a piano bar at closing time when he sings “That’s The Beginning Of The End” with just Porter’s fine accompaniment. The same is true of “I’m Lost,” here done as a vocal and bass duet with Wiitala. And then there’s “This Will Make You Laugh” with Fox’s guitar taking on the heavy challenge of being compared to the fabulous Oscar Moore. He does it just beautifully! By the end of I’m A Shy Guy, I felt that Mr. Reed and his associates had clearly illustrated the endurance of Cole’s trio by simply running down the songs properly, as the “King” intended. Lesson delivered and not soon forgotten.
- DownBeat Magazine, October 2013


"Ed Reed: Ed Reed -- I'm a Shy Guy: A Tribute to the King Cole Trio & Their Music"

...Since Love Stories, Reed has released The Song Is You (Blue Shorts Records, 2008), Born To Be Blue (Blue Shorts Records, 2011) and the present I'm A Shy Guy: A Tribute to the Cole Trio & Their Music. Reed's performance remains at an amazing, even otherworldly, level. Co-producer and jazz vocalist and educator in her own right, Laurie Antonioli reveals of the Cole sessions:

"On the first day of most recording projects, it takes time to get people settled, get the sound right and hopefully you'll get a few tunes out of the deal. This is not what happened with the "Nat" session. On day one, from the very first song it was all there. The sound,the band, the tempos and interaction. But most importantly Ed was in fine voice and was a real pro—like Sinatra or something. I think there are at least five first takes from that first day... My involvement, aside from some minor technical things on the vocal end, was simply to say "Let's keep going." The flow was magical and everyone could feel it... The next day the bulk of the recording was finished."

The danger with such sessions is that it all seems too easy and truly exceptional jazz singing, particularly male jazz singing, is anything but. That said, Reed stepped up and made this recording an effortless affair. Supported by a piano-guitar quintet, Reed spins through better and lesser known Cole book inclusions. Bobby Troupe's "Baby Baby All The Time" and Cole's timeless "Unforgettable" join "It's Only A Paper Moon" and "Straighten Up And Fly Right as the better known pieces. "Can't See For Lookin,'" "That's The Beginning of the End" and "Meet Me At No Special Place" represent the pithier and lesser known Cole classics that comprise this excellent collection where Ed Reed sings Cole like Ed Reed and not someone imitating Cole. It is this touch that makes I'm A Shy Guy: A Tribute to the King Cole Trio & Their Music so exceptional.

C. Michael Bailey - AllAboutJazz


"Jazz Vocalists -- from 'Trad' to Rad"

Ed Reed: I’m a Shy Guy—A Tribute to The King Cole Trio and Their Music (Blue Shorts Records 004; 49:45; 4-stars)

The Bay Area’s Ed Reed, who made his recording debut at 77, seems to be just hitting his stride at 84; his singing has only grown stronger and more confident with age. Reed’s story is the ultimate second act. After decades of drug addiction and repeated incarcerations at San Quentin, he has risen to become a critically acclaimed jazz singer. Reed’s is the voice of experience and hard-won wisdom. On this rounded collection of famous and lesser-known King Cole Trio sides, he takes his time with each lyric, singing dependably behind the beat. Many singers have done Cole tributes recently, but Reed’s is among the best. Without stooping to imitate, he captures the spirit of Cole’s wry humor and charm.

Allen Morrison - DownBeat Magazine, December 2013


"Ed Reed Ages Well"

“Since recording his first album at the age of 78, Reed has taken his rightful place as one of jazz's most keenly observant singers, a balladeer with a fine-grained baritone who turns familiar standards into wrenching tales. Over the years there have been several dozen jazz artists who returned to the limelight after long stretches in obscurity, but Reed is that rarest of cases, a musician who has come into his own late in life. And with every performance he seems to make up for lost time. Given his track record of exponential creative growth over the past four years it might be premature to say that "Born to Be Blue" is Reed's definitive statement, but his third album possesses all the distilled emotion and narrative coherence of a jazz masterpiece.”

Andrew Gilbert
July 21, 2011 - The Mercury News


"Editors' Picks"

“Reed has developed a jazz voice that is distinct—full of the pain, sorrow, love and beauty that go along with taking that long, hard trail through life. All of that is on full display here. When Ed Reed sings... look for an intimate story every time. On Born To Be Blue, he tells these stories through songs like Nat Adderley’s “Old Country” and other chestnuts like “She’s Funny That Way” and “Monk’s Dream.” But when he sings Abbey Lincoln’s “Throw It Away,” he establishes a connection to the lyrics and phrasing of the Hall of Fame artist that is both beautiful and uncanny. Born To Be Blue is the kind of record that makes you happy that this life offers people more than one chance to offer their gift to the world…”

Frank Alkyer
July 11, 2011 - DownBeat


"Newhouse: Ed Reed's singing better at 82"

...his third CD, "Born to Be Blue" has just been released...it's his best work...the man is an ageless prodigy...These are ballads, a lost art in music. And Reed's phrasing is as distinctive as his improvising - The Mercury News


"Newhouse: Ed Reed's singing better at 82"

...his third CD, "Born to Be Blue" has just been released...it's his best work...the man is an ageless prodigy...These are ballads, a lost art in music. And Reed's phrasing is as distinctive as his improvising - The Mercury News


"Reviews Vox: Born to Be Blue"

"Stylistically harkens back to the elegant tenderness of Johnny Hartman...richly insightful...intensely moving...hypnotic renderings..." - JazzTimes (Vox)


"Critic's pick:best jazz albums for summer"

The Richmond-based singer puts me in mind of Jimmy Rushing, Joe Lee Wilson, Abbey Lincoln - folks who sing (or sang) from the gut, from life experience, doing it with nobility and smarts, while feeling inside a lyric." - The Mercury News


"Review: Born to Be Blue"

Reed has a unique voice...nuanced and experience...sings with straight grace and confidence." - AllAboutJazz 6/14/11


"Review: Born to Be Blue"

Reed has a unique voice...nuanced and experience...sings with straight grace and confidence." - AllAboutJazz 6/14/11


"Nat Hentoff: Ed Reed's Stories of Regret and Recovery"

Hearing him on Victor Young's "Ghost of a Chance," the Ellington/Strayhorn "Day Dream," and Gordon Jenkins's "Goodbye" underscored how much I have missed, for years, the enveloping sensuous balladry of Duke Ellington's Herb Jeffries and the conversational intimacy of Johnny Hartman in his sessions with John Coltrane.

Mr. Reed's "hypnotic baritone," as Christopher Loudon described it in Jazz Times, is heard in a continuing, luminous autobiography in "Love Stories" - one of dreams destroyed, regained, abandoned and surprisingly fulfilled. He uses space like an inner musical instrument.

Nat Hentoff
June 16, 2009 - Wall Street Journal


"Review: The Song Is You"

Ed Reed is a storyteller, one who pours both his heart and nearly 80 years of life expriences...into a phrase. On his recent first recording, "Ed Reed Sings Love Stories" (2007), he debuted a lush tone that belied his age. Here [on "The Song Is You"] Reed and company serve as tour guides using tempo and timbre to present exceedingly fresh takes on a selection of songs that leans almost exclusively on the Great American Songbook.

Elliott Simon
July 2008 - All About Jazz: New York


"From San Quentin to the spotlight"

A master balladeer and a jazz singer in the truest sense, [Reed] absorbed the influences of Nat "King" Cole and Bill Henderson while honing an idiosyncratic style with phrasing that flows according to a lyric's emotional contours.

Andrew Gilbert
July 20, 2008 - Boston Sunday Globe


"Review: The Song Is You"

The City Paper: Nashville’s Daily News

Reed has so much sheer power, authority and conviction that you think you’re hearing someone far younger on “The Song Is You” (Blue Shorts). His renditions of “Where or When,” “I Get Along Without You Very Well,” “It Shouldn’t Happen To A Dream,” and “I Didn’t Know About You” don’t merely skip through the melody and zip into chord changes and alterations. Reed deftly explores the narratives within the song, carefully developing the storylines, clearly and cleanly presenting the lyrics and really making every tune a personal journey rather than simply a cover. Then, after 12 examples of mainly adhering to the jazz canon, his final number “Black Is” puts some topical fire and social edge into the proceedings … A mighty work…

Ron Wynn, Riffs
July 9, 2008
- The City Paper: Nashville's Daily News


"Live Performance Reviews: Ed Reed at the Jazz Standard"

When he hit the stage at The Jazz Standard on October 29, there was an energy in the room that was palpable. Reed ... gave a languid and bluesy reading of ["A Sleepin' Bee"] that set the tone for what was to come. His sandy baritone, a big suggestive of Eddie Jefferson or Jon Hendricks, but softer in texture, hewed closely to the melody, but he altered notes here and there in a way that lent emphasis to certain words or phrases, making his take on the song uniquely personal...Reed is a singer who truly uses his hands to augment his lyric readings, and on "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing" he almost made you see the blooms that are mentioned in the words. The regretful lyric of "Ask Me Now" was wistfully communicated by Reed, making you ponder upon how many times in life you rue not listening or caring when you really should have done so...With the conclusing selection, there was no doubt that on this evening the song was Ed Reed.

Joe Lang
January 2008 - Jazz Improv New York


"Review: Ed Reed Sings Love Stories"

[Reed] is mostly a balladeer who delivers each song like an expert ranconteur passing on hard-won wisdom, as on an aching version of "Ghost of a Chance."

Andrew Gilbert
April 2008 - Stereophile.com


"Review: The Song Is You"

Ed Reed is a storyteller, one who pours both his heart and nearly 80 years of life expriences...into a phrase. On his recent first recording, "Ed Reed Sings Love Stories" (2007), he debuted a lush tone that belied his age. Here [on "The Song Is You"] Reed and company serve as tour guides using tempo and timbre to present exceedingly fresh takes on a selection of songs that leans almost exclusively on the Great American Songbook.

Elliott Simon
July 2008 - All About Jazz: New York


"Review: Ed Reed Sings Love Stories"

A baritone in the classic tradition of Johnny Hartman, Reed wrings all the sun-dappled romanticism out of ballads like Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing, but also grooves with ease and grace on "Bye Bye Blackbird." His timing, phrasing and intonation are ...unaffected by the wear-and-tear toll of aging ...his voice resonates with rich, dark, lower-register colors used to powerful effect on his moving, a capella rendition of the spiritual, "Motherless Child." A bebop-oriented improviser, Reed has a thorough grasp of chord changes, knowledge that helps him improvise as fluently as a horn player.

Owen McNally
February 7, 2008 - Hartford Courant


"Reviews Vox: Ed Reed Sings Love Stories"

These 11 exquisite tracks do more than just shine; they resonate from the depths of despair and self-navigated disappointment...What Reed does with the likes of "A Sleepin' Bee," "Ask Me Now," "Ghost of a Chance," "Daydream," and an "If the Moon Turns Green" that even Billie Holiday would surely bow to - each imbued with the wisdom and satisfaction that comes from a life lost and then regained - is transporting...Indeed, here's hoping he spends as many of his remaining days as possible in the studio, crafting similarly priceless jewels.

Christopher Loudon
August 2007 - Jazztimes


"Ed Reed: Beating the Odds"

Reed's performances are warm, soft at the edges and full of character. He keeps things unpredictable, making surprising jumps up and down the register, while imbuing his delivery with an emotional quality that many young singers simply lack the life experience to match.

Forrest Dylan Bryant
September 29, 2007 - jazzwest.com


"Review: Ed Reed Sings Love Stories"

A baritone in the classic tradition of Johnny Hartman, Reed wrings all the sun-dappled romanticism out of ballads like Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing, but also grooves with ease and grace on "Bye Bye Blackbird." His timing, phrasing and intonation are ...unaffected by the wear-and-tear toll of aging ...his voice resonates with rich, dark, lower-register colors used to powerful effect on his moving, a capella rendition of the spiritual, "Motherless Child." A bebop-oriented improviser, Reed has a thorough grasp of chord changes, knowledge that helps him improvise as fluently as a horn player.

Owen McNally
February 7, 2008 - Hartford Courant


Discography

CD-I'm a Shy Guy (2013)
CD-Born to Be Blue (2011)
CD-The Song Is You (2008)
CD-Ed Reed Sings Love Stories (2007)

Available on CD Baby, Amazon, Digstation, iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, and many other popular digital sites.

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Bio

HONORS/AWARDS

  • Voted #1 Rising Star in Male Vocalist category (2014) in DownBeat's Annual Critics Poll
  • DownBeat Editor's Pick, October 2013, "I'm a Shy Guy"
  • DownBeat Editor's Pick, July 2011, "Born to Be Blue"
  • DownBeat Annual Critics Poll: Placed in Male Vocalist category 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012
  • DownBeat Annual Readers Poll: placed in Male Vocalist category, 2011
  • Jazz Journalists Association's Local Jazz Hero award, 2011
BIOGRAPHY

Ed Reed was born on February 2, 1929, in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1936. At age 11, he learned how to sing to chord changes from his neighbor's younger brother, then-teenage bassist Charles Mingus. At 17, he dropped out of school and joined the army where he got into drugs. After leaving the service with a general discharge, he sang in talent shows and amateur nights, and performed as a vocalist with a combo led by now-legendary trumpeter Dupree Bolton, but his addiction to drugs undermined his singing career.

Reed spent more than a decade of his life behind bars for crimes related to heroin addiction, yet those years weren't entirely wasted, as he had the opportunity to rub shoulders and even perform with such jazz greats as Art Pepper, Dexter Gordon, and Frank Butler in the San Quentin Warden's Jazz Band.

Reed's story has become one of triumph of the human spirit over great adversity. He has been clean and sober since 1986 and continues to work as a health educator, lecturer, and trainer with addicts/alcoholics, their families, and program staff.

Reed started singing again publicly in the early 1990s. In 2005, he attended JazzCamp West where New York-based multi-instrumentalist Peck Allmond first heard him. This resulted in Reed's recording debut just before his 78th birthday with the widely acclaimed Ed Reed Sings Love Stories (2007), produced by Bud Spangler and followed a year later with The Song Is You. Allmond, who plays on both projects, wrote the arrangements for both albums and produced the second CD.

The concept for his third CD, Born to Be Blue (2011) was conceived during Reed's 5-night gig at Marians Jazz Room in Switzerland in 2009. The CD was an October 2011 DownBeat Editor's pick. In the words of one reviewer, the project "possesses all the distilled emotion and narrative coherence of a jazz masterpiece."

I'm a Shy Guy (2013) honors Reed's special relationship to the music of the King Cole Trio. As a self-conscious adolescent, it was easier for him to "talk" to girls on the phone by singing Trio ballads he heard on the radio. When the Trio came to his high school and met with members of the school choir after the performance, Reed was too shy to say hello or shake the hand of his hero, Nat Cole, when Cole stopped to talk to him. This project gave him the chance to revisit those old tunes (and feelings).  DownBeat writes: "Many singers have done Cole tributes recently, but Reed's is among the best. Without stooping to imitate, he captures the spirit of Cole's wry humor and charm." The CD received a 4-star DownBeat review and selection as a DownBeat Editor's Pick.

In just a few short years, Ed Reed's music has been critically acclaimed and reviewed in myriad print and online jazz publications (including DownBeat, Jazziz, and JazzTimes to name a few), Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times, and the Boston Globe. He was a guest on Marian McPartland's icionic "Piano Jazz" radio show on NPR stations in 2008, was profiled by Nat Hentoff in the Wall Street Journal in June 2009, and placed in the Male Vocalist Rising Star category of the Downbeat Critic's Poll in 6 out of the last 7 years - in 2014, he was voted #1 in that category.

Ed Reed has performed at internationally renowned clubs in New York, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, and Bern, Switzerland. He was also a featured interviewee in "The Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story," a critically acclaimed film documentary released in 2014, and had the honor of giving a TEDx talk in Santa Cruz, CA in 2015.

Publicist
Terri Hinte
510-234-8781

Bookings
Maxine Harvard
623-566-5336

 


Band Members