Al Dreares
Encyclopedia
Albert Alfred "Al" Dreares (born January 4, 1929, Key West, Florida
) is an American jazz
drummer.
Dreares was a childhood friend of Fats Navarro
, and studied at Hartnett Conservatory in New York City
on the advice of his father, a trumpeter. He played early in his career in the bands of Paul Williams
(1953–54) and Teddy Charles
(1955). The next year he played with Charles Mingus
and in an ensemble with Randy Weston
and Ahmed Abdul-Malik
. In 1957 he played on Freddie Redd
's album San Francisco Suite
and worked with Kenny Burrell
; 1958 saw him with Gigi Gryce
and Jerome Richardson
, and 1959 with Phineas Newborn
, as well as with his own ensemble.
Other credits include recordings with Mal Waldron
and Julian Euell
, Bennie Green
, Don Pullen
, Thelonious Monk
, and Dizzy Gillespie
.
With Freddie Redd
With Mal Waldron
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
) is an American jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
drummer.
Dreares was a childhood friend of Fats Navarro
Fats Navarro
Theodore "Fats" Navarro was an American jazz trumpet player. He was a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s. He had a strong stylistic influence on many other players, most notably Clifford Brown.-Life:Navarro was born in Key West, Florida, to Cuban-Black-Chinese parentage...
, and studied at Hartnett Conservatory in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on the advice of his father, a trumpeter. He played early in his career in the bands of Paul Williams
Paul Williams (saxophonist)
Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams was an American blues and rhythm and blues saxophonist and songwriter. In his Honkers and Shouters, Arnold Shaw credits Williams as one of the first to employ the honking tenor sax solo that became the hallmark of rhythm and blues and rock and roll in the 1950s and...
(1953–54) and Teddy Charles
Teddy Charles
Teddy Charles is an American jazz pianist, drummer and vibraphone musician. Born Theodore Charles Cohen in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, he began his musical career studying at Juilliard School of Music as a percussionist...
(1955). The next year he played with Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
and in an ensemble with Randy Weston
Randy Weston
Randy Weston , is an American jazz pianist and composer, of Jamaican parentage.-Biography:Weston studied classical piano as a child. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he ran a restaurant that was frequented by many of the leading bebop musicians...
and Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Ahmed Abdul-Malik was a jazz double bassist and oud player of Sudanese descent....
. In 1957 he played on Freddie Redd
Freddie Redd
Freddie Redd is an American hard bop pianist and composer.His greatest success came in the late 1950s in the play and movie The Connection, in which he both played and acted in New York City, London, and Paris. He also played on the soundtrack album...
's album San Francisco Suite
San Francisco Suite
San Francisco Suite is an album by American pianist Freddie Redd recorded in 1957 and released on the Riverside label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "An excellent effort"....
and worked with Kenny Burrell
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.-Biography:...
; 1958 saw him with Gigi Gryce
Gigi Gryce
Gigi Gryce was an American saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, educator, and big band bandleader.His performing career was relatively short and, in comparison to other musicians of his...
and Jerome Richardson
Jerome Richardson
Jerome Richardson was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet and piccolo...
, and 1959 with Phineas Newborn
Phineas Newborn
Phineas Newborn, Jr. was an American jazz pianist, whose principal influences were Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson and Bud Powell. Newborn came from a musical family with his father, Phineas Newborn, Sr., being a blues musician and his younger brother, Calvin, a jazz guitarist...
, as well as with his own ensemble.
Other credits include recordings with Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
and Julian Euell
Julian Euell
Julian Euell is an American jazz bassist.Euell first began playing bass in 1944, and served in the Army from 1945-47. He played with Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, and Art Taylor in 1947 but quit music from 1949 to 1952, working in a post office...
, Bennie Green
Bennie Green
Bennie Green was an American jazz trombonist.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Green worked in the orchestras of Earl Hines and Charlie Ventura, and recorded as bandleader through the 1950s and 1960s.-As leader:...
, Don Pullen
Don Pullen
Don Pullen was an American jazz pianist and organist. Pullen developed a strikingly individual style throughout his career. He composed masterworks ranging from blues to bebop and modern jazz...
, Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, and Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
.
As sideman
With Bennie GreenBennie Green
Bennie Green was an American jazz trombonist.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Green worked in the orchestras of Earl Hines and Charlie Ventura, and recorded as bandleader through the 1950s and 1960s.-As leader:...
- Walkin' & Talkin'Walkin' & Talkin'Walkin' & Talkin' is an album by American trombonist Bennie Green recorded in 1959 and released on the Blue Note label. It was issued on CD only in Japan, in 2004.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1959)
With Freddie Redd
Freddie Redd
Freddie Redd is an American hard bop pianist and composer.His greatest success came in the late 1950s in the play and movie The Connection, in which he both played and acted in New York City, London, and Paris. He also played on the soundtrack album...
- San Francisco SuiteSan Francisco SuiteSan Francisco Suite is an album by American pianist Freddie Redd recorded in 1957 and released on the Riverside label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "An excellent effort"....
(Riverside, 1957)
With Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
- Left AloneLeft Alone (Mal Waldron album)Left Alone is an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron recorded in 1959 and released on the Bethlehem label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 3 stars stating "Although Waldron dedicated the album to Lady Day and talks about her a bit on the last track in a short...
(Bethlehem, 1959) - Sweet Love, BitterSweet Love, BitterSweet Love, Bitter is a soundtrack album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron recorded in 1967 for the film of the same name written by Lewis Jacobs and directed by Herbert Danska and released on the Impulse! label.-Reception:...
(Impulse!, 1967)