Tenor sax, bandleader, arrager. Dedicated archivist and follower of Charlie Parker, Red Flory's best known in the music community for his work with Supersax, the Parker repertory company. He's also an accomplished actor and screen writer who's appeared in dozens of television shows and several films. Flory played clarinet and alto sax with Claude Thornhill, then played tenor sax with Woody Herman in the early '50s. He formed his own band in 1954 in New York, then in 1956 relocated to California. Flory organized a big band that later performed as the first Monterey Festival in 1958. That same year he also recorded with Terry Gibbs, and eventually played with both Gibbs' nonet and orchestra. Flory played in 1959 with Art Pepper and Woody Herman. He and Joe Maini began jointly working on Parker transcriptions in the '60s. Whe Maini died, the work halted temporarily, before being revived through the efforts of Buddy Clark. Out of this project, in 1972 the band Supersax was formed, a group that performed Parker compositions. Their debut album won a Grammy in 1973, and Flory became group leader in 1975, after Clark departed. ~ Ron Wynn, Rovi
