Don Redman & His Orchestra (1934) User Reviews

Praising Don Redman

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 22 November 2007]

This musical short obviously marketed for a black audience in mind featured one of the finest jazz bands of the early Thirties. Black orchestras like Redman were playing hot jazz back in the day, but in the white world it was the era of sweet music in the early thirties. The swing era was just around the corner when both styles would fuse.

Redman to me came across as a synthesis of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. He was a little roly poly guy with the same type of performing charisma as Calloway. Unfortunately he disbanded his orchestra within a year of this short and today is sadly forgotten.

This short will help us a remember a very talented guy.

Vitaphone jazz short from the '30s features Don Redman's orchestra...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 5 June 2008]

Little can be said about this early Vitaphone short featuring Don Redman and His Orchestra. The musical segment is comprised of three numbers, none of which have much distinction and are certainly not well known standards today.

Best of the lot is "An Ill Wind Blows Nobody No Good" which gets a nice jazz treatment and even has a scene segment of its own featuring a couple of black singer/dancers. Not bad is the opening number, "Did You Hear That Trombone Swing?" But this is a trifle that amounts to little more than watching how a little known black band got its start in the thirties (from '31 to '34) with jazz numbers featuring singers like Harlan Lattimore, who does a nice job on his vocals, and novelty dancers like Red and Struggie, who barely seemed of professional caliber.

Summing up: An easy to forget item from TCM's collection of Vitaphone shorts.

Yeah Man, Yeah Man

[msladysoul · 29 July 2002]

I've been collecting Black Film Shorts for years, and this is my favorite, "Yeah Man, Yeah Man". Great Black Entertainment. Film shorts were the only way Blacks could be shown on screen as is. You'll get to see the latest dance steps, the latest songs, the latest styles, you'll love this film if you can find it. Yeah Man, Yeah Man.

pleasant but unremarkable.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 5 March 2017]

Vitaphone provided a unique opportunity for black orchestras. Without this small studio in New York showcasing their work, we might not have any record of some of the great black bands of the day. A few, such as Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, are very famous and would no doubt be remembered even without their Vitaphone appearances....but what about Don Redman & His Orchestra? This mostly forgotten band leader and band survive to this day because of Vitaphone.

The short begins with Redman and the rest performing in front of a set made up of giant cards and a roulette-type wheel. Redman himself sings two unremarkble tunes and then Harlan Lattimore and Red & Struggie sing two more. None of it will change your life or turn you into a rabid Redman fan...but it is pleasant and worth seeing.

Amazing Jazz short!

[barrymn1 · 10/10 · 24 May 2006]

Don Redman had one of the all-time best Jazz Orchestras between 1931 and 1934...when he disbanded this band.

Prior to starting his own band, he was member of Fletcher Henderson's legendary 20's Orchestra and in 1928 Redman took over as leader and musical director of legendary McKinney's Cotton Pickers.

Henderson did not start his arranging career until about 1931, so the 1920's arrangements that influenced everybody at that time was by Don Redman. You could almost credit Redman with being the creator of the classic big band sound, since it was he who put together ensembles of horns and reeds within the framework of the 3 minute hot jazz arrangement! This is Redman's only short and it also showcases Harlan Lattimore, his band vocalist...who was known as "The Colored Bing Crosby"! Wonderful voice.

Harold Arlen's follow-up to "Stormy Weather", "Ill Wind" wasn't all that much of a hit, and for my money, the version heard in this short is the best I've ever heard. Unfortunately, Redman did not record it.

A great short....nearly worth the price of this boxed set.

Fun Vitaphone Short

[Michael_Elliott · 1 May 2011]

Don Redman & His Orchestra (1934)

*** (out of 4)

This Vitaphone short was clearly made for black audiences but seeing it today shows that the white crowds were missing one of the more entertaining musical shorts from the studio. Don Redman was a jazz musician with a very distinct sound and his energetic nature really makes this film stand out from others made around this period. "You're Blowin' Me No Good, Yeah Man, Nagasaki and Tall Man are the four numbers performed in the 9-minute short and if you're a fan of jazz then this here will be a must see. None of these four songs are very well-known today but that really doesn't matter because Redman just comes across with so much energy that you can't help but wanna get up and dance to the music. He's a short, chubby little guy but the energy coming out of him would be enough for three people his size. These Vitaphone shorts always featured low-budgets but this one here actually looks to be somewhat higher than normal for the series. The main reason to watch this is that there simply weren't too many shorts showing off black entertainers. Paramount had a good number of titles, which have been released by Kino but Vitaphone has many of theirs still in the vault. This one here is thankfully on DVD and shows up on TCM for new fans to view and enjoy.