suite freedom (arr.)

Reddy’s suite freedom (originally called hymn to freedom) was written in 1990, the year in which Nelson Mandela was released from prison and banned organisations were unbanned, enabling many South African exiles to return home. The piece is based on a medley of tunes by Oscar Peterson, Enoch Sontonga, Mackay Davashe and Abdullah Ibrahim, arranged for Reddy’s jazz ensemble, Channel 18. The score survives as an original EVI lead sheet manuscript of six pages, presented here in facsimile.

The piece was played and recorded in its own right, both as an ensemble piece and as a piano solo, notably as track 4 on Reddy’s solo CD reddy, steady, go! (1994; track 1 is homage to bach, track 2 from bach to the beatles, track 3 a little mozart a lot of webber and track 4 suite freedom). suite freedom was later extended and more fully notated for voice, clarinet and piano in 1993, for a SAMRO commission. This later version is called à la recherche de la paix et de la liberté (SR053/ACE352).