Red Richards

Charles Coleridge Richards entered the world on 19 October 1912 in Brooklyn, New York City, and left it on 12 March 1998 in the same metropolis. Classical piano occupied his childhood until an encounter with Fats Waller prompted a decisive turn toward jazz. For several years he performed throughout his native city, appearing both unaccompanied and as an ensemble pianist. In the closing years of the 1940s and the opening years of the 1950s he collaborated with leading figures that included extended engagements in the groups of Tab Smith and Sidney Bechet. Throughout the 1950s he moved between American and European venues, accompanying artists such as Mezz Mezzrow and Frank Sinatra, yet the greater part of the decade was spent in Muggsy Spanier’s ensemble. A short interval with Wild Bill Davison preceded his partnership with Vic Dickenson, with whom he founded the Saints And Sinners. The group persisted into the early 1970s; afterward Richards settled once more in New York, where he appeared in clubs both alone and directing small combos. Late in that decade he commenced worldwide touring that continued through the 1980s, sometimes as a lone performer and at other times as a member of the Savoy Sultans under the direction of David ‘Panama’ Francis. His most compelling contributions consistently emerged when he functioned within an ensemble, supplying swing and propulsion to the rhythm section. He suffered a fatal collapse while performing onstage in New York during March 1998.