Aaron Corthen, better known as A.C. Reed (May 9, 1926 – February 24, 2004)^[1] was an American blues saxophonist, closely associated with the Chicago blues scene from the 1940s into the 2000s.

Reed was born in Wardell, Missouri, and grew up in southern Illinois. He took his stage name from his friend Jimmy Reed. He moved to Chicagoduring World War II, playing with Earl Hooker and Willie Mabon in the 1940s. He toured with Dennis “Long Man” Binder in 1956, and worked extensively as a sideman for Mel London‘s blues record labels Chief/Profile/Age in the 1960s, with Lillian Offitt and Ricky Allen, among others. He had a regionally popular single in 1961, “This Little Voice” (Age 29101), and cut several more singles over the course of the decade with Age, USA, Cool, and Nike Records.