Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, (October 1, 1904), Alton Redd was a Rhythm and Blues and traditional Jazz drummer. that can also sing. Father of alto saxophonist Vi Redd.

Redd played with swing bands in the 1920s and 1930s. He moved to Los Angeles where Redd performed in a filmed rendition of "Shine" with other jazz greats. He sang "It Can't Be Love" in Citizen Kane (1941). He also appeared playing on the drums in the 1944 film Greenwich Village directed by Walter Lang.

He played with various groups and alongside jazz performers including Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray and Cee Pee Johnson. One of his bandmates reported that his career was limited somewhat because he could not read. Better know for his work with Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band, with whom he also toured Europe.

In 1946 he had the opportunity to record four songs under his own name for the local Bel-Tone label; Snooky Young, Tom Davis, Harold Morrow, Joe Lewis, Edgar Mason, and Henry Tucker Green all played in his band, the Low Down Blues Orchestra. In 1965 he also played with Keith Smith and the New Orleans Jazz Band.

In the field of jazz, he participated in 17 recording sessions between 1944 and 1970, including the Louis Armstrong famous concert at the Shrine Auditorium in 1970.

He passed away in Los Angeles on June 7, 1979.

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