Born Sylvester Kyner Jr., Sonny Red first gained recognition playing with Art Blakey. His duet album “Two Altos” with Art Pepper brought him to a wider audience in the late 1950s. Though he is well-known for his excellent appearances in a run of Blue Note albums with Donald Byrd, Sonny Red also recorded several albums as a leader. Most notably, his album “Out Of The Blue,” with a rhythm section of Kelly, Chambers, and Brooks, is considered an overlooked masterpiece and encapsulates his soulful and melodic approach to jazz.
