Alvin Tyler
| Alvin "Red" Tyler | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Alvin Owens Tyler |
| Born |
December 5, 1925 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
| Died | April 3, 1998 (aged 72) New Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Saxophonist, arranger |
| Instruments | Saxophone |
| Associated acts | Dave Bartholomew, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Lloyd Price, Aaron Neville, Lee Dorsey, Dr. John |
| Notable instruments | |
| Saxophone | |
Alvin Owens "Red" Tyler (December 5, 1925 – April 3, 1998) was an American R&B and neo-bop jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger, regarded as "one of the most important figures in New Orleans R&B".
Born and raised in New Orleans, Tyler was known as "Red" because of his light tanned skin. He grew up listening to the city's marching bands. He began playing saxophone after he joined the US Navy in 1945, and after his discharge joined the Grunewald School of Music. In 1949 he joined Dave Bartholomew’s R&B band, whose other members included Ernest McLean, Frank Fields, and Earl Palmer. He also played jazz in club jam sessions, and regarded himself as primarily a jazz rather than an R&B musician.
He made his recording debut on Fats Domino’s first session at Cosimo Matassa's studio, when he recorded “The Fat Man”. He went on to play on sessions for Little Richard, Lloyd Price, Aaron Neville, Lee Dorsey, and numerous other rhythm and blues artists, often helping with the songs' arrangements. According to Mac Rebennack, "Red Tyler was the true leader of the [studio] band but he never got full credit. He would sit down and organise almost every song. He would organise the changes, teach the guitar player to change, have the piano run it down for everybody to learn...". In 1955, he began working for Johnny Vincent's Ace Records as an A&R man, and oversaw sessions by Huey "Piano" Smith, Frankie Ford and others. He also recorded an album, Rockin' and Rollin', credited to Alvin 'Red' Tyler and the Gyros, with a band that included Fields, Allen Toussaint, and James Booker.
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